Covered in Darkness
by QG
Summary: Ken is taken prisoner and is being manipulated towards evil. Rated for an unheard of amount of Ken torture and angst. FINISHED
1. Capture

A/N: Written over a period of exactly three years, Covered In Darkness began as a misinterpretation of a Digimon clip, and evolved into the completed story here before you. Thank you everyone for reading and supporting me this entire time. Now! To those reading this for the first time, CID is a Ken-centric angst fic without couples. I hope you enjoy it!  
  
Covered In Darkness  
  
By QG  
  
Editor: Aria  
  
Chapter One: Capture  
  
It was mid-December. Snow was lightly falling, powdering the ground with white. It was midday and the half-obscured sun was casting shadows on everything. What you could see of the sun illuminated the snow, making it appear to sparkle. This breathtaking effect was lost on me, though; I walked along the sidewalk with my head down, face hard with thought. I was thinking of everything that had happened over the past two months. I had been defeated as the Digimon Kaiser. Wormmon was lost to me in the battle, only to come back and give me a second chance to redeem myself. The five people who had beaten me turned around and became my allies. I had helped them to destroy dark towers left over in the Digital World. I had also helped them find and defeat Black War Greymon, who was trying to destroy the holy stones. And now, the dark towers and evil Digimon had entered our world. A sudden cold whistle of wind interrupted my thoughts and I shuddered, cursing the thin material of my uniform and regretting not wearing my sweater. I sighed. If it wasn't one thing, it was another. My Digimon looked up at me.  
  
"Is there something bothering you, Ken-chan?" he asked. My gaze softened as I looked to him.  
  
"No, Wormmon. I'm fine, just a little cold. Thanks for asking," I responded.   
  
"Well, that's what I'm here for. To help you when you need me," he said and nuzzled my leg. I smiled and picked him up before I continued down the street. Suddenly, I heard two familiar voices behind me.  
  
"Look Arkenimon! It's one of those Chosen brats!" Mummymon. I spun around, looking for them, panic rising in my chest. They were standing next to a large silver truck and smiled when I noticed them. I took a step away and Wormmon jumped out of my arms, ready to attack.   
  
"What's wrong?" Arkenimon sneered. "Are you frightened of us?" I turned to my Digimon.  
  
"Wormmon, shinka!" I yelled, holding up my D-3. He nodded, but when he tried to, nothing happened. He tried again. Nothing.  
  
"He's not going to evolve no matter how many times you try," Arkenimon said. She gestured towards a newly created dark tower. I cursed silently.  
  
"I'm really sorry Ken-chan," Wormmon apologized. There was a time when I would have kicked him for less, but I only smiled.  
  
"It's alright. You gave it your best shot," I replied. Mummymon, meanwhile, was talking to Arkenimon.   
  
"My darling Arkenimon, I know that you haven't taken any of my affections for you seriously yet. And I know you're never going to believe me until I can prove myself and my love to you. I'll prove I'm worthy of your love by killing this Chosen Child and his Digimon!" he exclaimed. I froze, my blood running cold. Killing me? Mummymon morphed into his Digimon form and advanced on me, a giant monster covered in bandages, wielding a huge gun. I began to back up in fear.  
  
"There's none of your fellow Chosen Children around to save you," he said menacingly. I took another step back. Suddenly, he threw yards of bandages at me. They entwined themselves around me, imprisoning my arms. I cried out as he fired electric shocks from his gun into my helpless body. Wormmon ran up to Mummymon, butting him with his head.  
  
"Stop hurting Ken-chan!" he cried. Mummymon only laughed and violently kicked my Digimon aside.  
  
"Wormmon!" I yelled before the bandages tightened their hold. They were squeezing my body; I felt my lungs being pressed in. I gasped desperately for air and Mummymon laughed acidicly.  
  
"What's wrong? Can't breathe?" he taunted me. I again struggled to breathe but found it impossible. My head felt light as everything began fading out around me...when, suddenly, I heard a familiar call of "Fire Rocket!" and felt the bandages restraining me disintegrate. I fell to my knees and began coughing as I gasped for breath.   
  
"Ken, are you okay?!" I heard Daisuke yell. I caught my breath and looked up. All five of the Chosen Children were there, looking immensely worried.  
  
"Yes, I'm fine. Thank you for saving me," I said. Iori helped me to my feet. Wormmon, who had recovered from being kicked, ran to my side, extremely relieved to see that I was okay. We six Chosen Children turned to face Arkenimon and a shocked-looking Mummymon.  
  
"You guys are going down!" Daisuke shouted.  
  
"Putting up those dark towers is one thing, but nearly killing Ken is unforgivable!" Hikari yelled. They started forward, but Arkenimon held up a hand.  
  
"Wait! I have to ask Ken something," she said.  
  
"You almost killed him!" Takeru yelled angrily. She smirked.  
  
"That was Mummymon's idiocy, not my doing. Now, I need to ask Ken a question," she said again. I stepped forward.  
  
"It's okay. What do you want to ask me?" I said with contempt.  
  
"Why are you wasting your time with them?" she asked. That statement threw me.  
  
"What are you talking about?" I asked. She gestured to the other five Chosen Children.  
  
"Them. Why are you wasting your time with them?" I cast a glance back at the five children who I now considered allies or possibly even friends.  
  
"T-they're my friends..." I replied softly. She flicked her hair.  
  
"Ha. What has friendship ever done for you? What power has it given you? Think about it. How do you even know they're really your friends? They could be using you for your Digimon..." she said. I gasped. That couldn't be true. They had stood by me, forgiven me, even befriended me after I had done such horrible things to them as the Digimon Kaiser. They wouldn't be using me...would they?  
  
"Don't believe her, Ken!" Daisuke shouted. I trusted him. He was the first friend I had gotten ever since the forces of darkness had lost their power over me. But...a seed of doubt was still there. What if...what if he really didn't want to have me as a friend? What if none of them did? The thought of my only friends turning on me frightened me on a strange and fundamental level. They would leave me though, if I turned back to evil again, I just knew they would. I could picture their faces, as they would look if they turned on me. If I gave into evil, they would abandon me, leave me alone in a sea of darkness. And that was something I wouldn't be able to bear...   
  
"Ken, you don't truly believe that they are friends with you, do you? That they actually care about you? Do you think you belong with them?" she asked. I glanced back at them again, this time hesitating. Of course, I would say that I was friends with them, that I did belong with the other Chosen Children, but did I really? I had been covered in darkness for so long; was I worthy to be with ones so much more pure than I? Arkenimon noticed the flicker of doubt.  
  
"Yes. You understand it, don't you? You really belong with us. Just give in to the darkness, become one with it. You'll see who your true friends are," she said. My mind flashed back to a nightmare I had had the previous night. In it, I had reverted to being the Digimon Kaiser. I had forced the Chosen Children to their knees; they begged me to spare their lives. I had showed no mercy as I slowly tortured each one...  
  
I shuddered at the memory of how it had felt. How it felt to once again embrace evil, to cause pain and suffering. I remembered the feeling of power I had when I really was the Digimon Kaiser, when I slowly began to conquer the Digital World and turn everyone into mindless slaves. But I also knew the pain, the pain inside my mind of the overwhelming abyss, the horrible cold that had taken hold over me. I couldn't let it happen again, I couldn't hurt anyone. But were my friends really who they said they were? Did they really care about me? Or was it just a lie, designed to bring me down? Was my true purpose that of evil? Then I could feel it, it was there in the chillingly cold air, its presence turning my insides to ice, that oppressing darkness surrounding me, pressing on my will, twisting my thoughts. I was losing control...  
  
"Ken, will you join us once again?" Arkenimon asked, her eyes narrowing wickedly.  
  
"Ken-chan, don't listen to her!" I heard Wormmon cry. Midnight was engulfing me; I had to fight it...  
  
"Ken we need you!" Miyako yelled.  
  
"Well, what is your answer Ken? Will you join us?" Arkenimon questioned. I tried to resist it, tried to keep myself from answering. I felt myself being overpowered, felt the cold, frightened, alone feeling grow inside of me. Dark began to surround me, cover me, just as it had done before...  
  
"Yes," I whispered looking down in defeat.  
  
"No!" Daisuke cried. I let Arkenimon lead me to the back of a truck parked nearby. Without looking at the Chosen Children, I got in and sat down. I heard the door shut and Arkenimon got into the truck with Mummymon. I never looked up. As we drove off, I heard Daisuke shouting my name, over and over, trying to reach me. His shouts fell on deaf ears, drowned out by the sound of nothingness. I felt cold, uncaring.   
  
Inwardly, I fought to gain control of myself and for a second, I did, and realized what I was doing. I was cooperating with the enemy, letting the evil in my body take me over, forcing me to revert to what I had been. My eyes widened with horror at myself. I stood and began pounding my fists against the door in back of the truck in a desperate attempt to break it open.   
  
"Daisuke!" I yelled. He was running after the truck, and kept yelling my name. Suddenly, I felt a stab of pain in my skull, like it was being split open. I clutched my head as I sank to the floor of the truck, screaming in pain. The darkness was trying to take control of me again, trying to force me into submission. I felt my muscles tense as I tried to fight it. I was not going to be taken over, was not going to succumb to what I had been. I continued to scream as memories flashed through my mind. Everything I had done as the Digimon Kaiser, all of the people and Digimon I had hurt, I had killed. But most of all, I felt the consuming nothingness, the feelings of evil. I could not let myself become that again, could not let it happen. I could not hurt the people I considered friends. I screamed in utter agony as the horrid blackness pulled at me, tried to imprison me in its shapeless void. I screamed until I felt something hard hit the back of my head and my vision dissolved into darkness. 


	2. Confinement

Covered in Darkness  
  
By QG  
  
Editor: Aria  
  
Chapter Two: Confinement  
  
I gradually awoke to something cold and wet dripping onto my hand. I drowsily opened my eyes and saw water droplets falling onto my open palm. Pulling my hand out of the water, I put it to my temple, which I began massaging. A soft groan escaped my throat as I tried to numb the dull, throbbing pain in my head that had begun when I had awakened.  
  
As I tried to reduce the pain in my skull, I thought. What had happened to me? Where was I? My mind was clouded and my thoughts jumbled. I remembered I had been in some sort of vehicle, a truck maybe. And someone had been yelling my name. There was a feeling of darkness, emptiness engulfing me, covering me. I had been controlled, driven to enter that truck. Then I recalled pain, a searing, burning ache in my head, and I had screamed until my lungs felt weak. Then something heavy had hit me and...  
  
Suddenly, with a sickening feeling, I realized where I was. Ignoring the aching pain in my head, I quickly sat up and looked around, confirming my suspicions. I was imprisoned in someplace dark and cold, most likely in the Digital World, hidden away by Arkenimon and Mummymon.  
  
I felt like crying as I lay back down. No one knew where I was and my parents were probably worried sick about me. I wasn't sure what the Chosen Children were thinking about me, after I had let myself be taken like that. I prayed they knew that I had lost control, and were coming to look for me. My thoughts dwelled on what was to become of me. I hoped with all my heart my captors weren't going to do what I thought they would...An involuntary shudder passed over me as I wondered what tortures I was to be put through if they wanted me to give in to evil again.  
  
"Ken, stop it!" I nearly shouted at myself. "You're making yourself more afraid than you need to be. Maybe...maybe they're just using you as a hostage, to lure in the Chosen Children. And, once you rejoin them after they've rescued you, you can all jogress and defeat Arkenimon and Mummymon. And then you can go home and be with your friends, and you'll be happy and safe again."   
  
I knew in the back of my mind that I was only deluding myself, rationalizing the situation to make it seem better than it was. But...but I wanted to believe myself. I didn't think I was ready to face the horrors I just knew I would have to endure. And I was trying to hold on to something. Hope. If I could pretend that everything would turn out perfectly fine, I could keep hold on the hope that it might actually do just that. If I had hope, I could use that to my advantage. If I knew there were something joyous to look for, people who cared enough about me to rescue me, then I wouldn't give in. I would have a weapon I could use, so long as I held onto it.  
  
But would it be enough for me? Would I really be able to resist for however long it would take before the others came to rescue me? Did I have that strong a will? My mind swam with questions. I lay there, wondering if I had the strength to defy evil, for a long time. My body soon answered my questions for me by drifting off to sleep.  
  
* * *  
  
When I awoke again sometime later, my headache had all but disappeared. I sat up and stretched; my muscles were stiff. Curious, and because I had to put any frightened thoughts of Arkenimon out of my head, I decided to look around at my lodgings.  
  
Calling it a room was a bit of an overstatement; it did, in fact, seem very much like a prison cell. It was very dim, and the lack of windows made it impossible to tell if it was day or night, as well as how long I had been there. I couldn't make out much in the low light of the cell. I was sitting on a hard stone floor, though what it was crafted of I couldn't tell.  
  
From what I could make out on the windowless walls hung chains and shackles, rusted to an iron brown. As I gazed at them, I got the most frightening picture in my mind of myself, chained and beaten, with no one there to help me...I shook my head to clear it of such thoughts.  
  
The cell was small; it could accommodate three reclining adults at most. Water periodically dripped down from the ceiling, making small puddles on the floor. It also ran down the walls, helping to rust the chains and giving the entire cell a dank and damp appearance. There was a huge door in the center of one wall, made of heavy, black wood that was, in all likelihood, bolted shut. The entire cell felt cold, wet, and black. It was almost as if they were already trying to control me...I once again had to clear my thoughts. My mind kept linking everything back to the evil feelings inside me...  
  
After taking in what the cell had to show me, and determining that the only way out was through the door, I waited. Waiting had always been a hard thing for me to do. Feelings of anxiety and nervousness would always grow inside of me until they reached an unbearable peak. This time it was even worse. I had never before had to wait to find out what was going to happen to my life. Never had to wait to discover if I was to live or die, be tortured or simply used as bait. I was getting more frightened by the second. When was I going to know what was to become of me? I could only pace around the cell in my impatience and anxiety.  
  
As I slowly walked around the cell, trying to fill the time with something until I found out my fate, I heard the strangled cry of a Digimon in pain from somewhere outside. Old feelings resurfaced as I slowly sank to the floor. A sensation of coldness passed over my body and I hugged my knees to keep warm. How many times had I heard that same scream? How many times had I caused a Digimon to cry out in pain like that? I hated myself for what I had been, for all the suffering I had caused.  
  
But under the hate for myself were thoughts of Wormmon. I realized how incredibly worried I was over my little Digimon. I had never shown any emotion towards him while I was evil except, of course, contempt. But he had stood by me the whole time, and still loved me through it. After he was returned from the dead to me, I had been trying to repay him for the kindness he had shown. Now that I was away from him, I was full of questions about him. How was he doing, in my absence? How was he handling my lapse of control over the evil that lay inside of me? How was he coping with my capture? With every new question I came up with, I grew more and more worried about him. I soon lost track of time and didn't notice anything else until I heard the door open.  
  
"I see you're awake, Kaiser." I spun around to see who it was. A tiny beam of light streamed in from the open door, only enough to silhouette Arkenimon's form in the doorway. I narrowed my eyes at her as I stood.  
  
"What do you want?" I asked, trying to sound slightly annoyed and angry, while inside I was absolutely terrified. Terrified of what she was going to say next, praying it wasn't what I thought.   
  
Arkenimon grinned wickedly, her teeth glistening in the semi-darkness, and stepped forward, the door sealing closing behind her. My façade of annoyance was dropped as she grasped my shoulders and leaned in close to my face. Her nails dug into my skin. I trembled in fear under her grip, which only made her smile broaden.  
  
"What I want," she spoke softly, yet sadistically, "is to hurt you. And keep on hurting you until there's no room left for anything else but pain. Pain...and darkness." 


	3. Promises

Covered In Darkness  
  
By QG  
  
Editor: Aria  
  
Chapter Three: Promises  
  
"What are we going to do?" Miyako asked. The Chosen Children sat in the school's computer lab, pondering the situation. They had run to Koushiro as soon as the truck with Ken, Arkenimon, and Mummymon in it had driven back into the Digital World. Takeru sat with his arm around Hikari's waist and her head on his shoulder, while Tailmon and Patamon sat nearby. Daisuke stood looking out the window, pensive, and V-mon stood next to him. Iori sat on the floor with Upaamon in his lap, face also deep in thought. Miyako was pacing around the room and Hawkmon stood near Daisuke, watching her. Koushiro sat with his back to the computers, with a tearful Wormmon in his lap. Daisuke turned to face the group when Miyako spoke.  
  
"What do think we're going to do? We're going into the Digital World to look for Ken, what else would we be doing?" he replied forcefully.  
  
"Well, I was just wondering if that was such a good idea. I mean, you all saw how he just went along with Arkenimon. Do you really think we can trust him, Daisuke?" she asked.   
  
"How can you say that, Miyako? He's our friend! Hasn't he shown you anything in the past two months? I know he isn't evil!" Daisuke exclaimed incredulously.  
  
"I was just saying that he might be! He was the Digimon Kaiser not two months ago, in case you forgot!" she yelled back. Hikari spoke up.  
  
"I agree with Daisuke. We might not be able to trust him, but he is still our friend. He's tried so hard to become friends with us, to change his ways, that we have to give him a chance. I know just how hard it is to fight the forces of darkness sometimes," she said. Iori looked up.  
  
"Yes, but that's the thing. What if the pull of darkness was too much for Ken to handle? What if he gave in? We could be walking into a trap if we go to look for him," he reasoned.   
  
"That is true. We have to keep every possibility open. If manipulating Ken towards evil is Arkenimon's goal, we'll have to remain very cautious if we go to find him. He was the Kaiser for a long time, so it may be easier for Arkenimon to influence him than it would be for her to control one of us. Even if he hasn't turned to darkness yet, he could still be broken by Arkenimon and Mummymon," Koushiro said. Wormmon tensed up in anger.  
  
"Ken-chan would never give in! I know he was evil at one point, but he's changed his ways! He's the kindest boy I know and he has the strongest will of anyone! I can't believe we're even having this conversation! You're all wasting time doubting him instead of going to look for him! And you dare to call yourselves his friends!" he exploded before breaking down sobbing. The Chosen Children looked at him in surprise.  
  
"I-I'm sorry Wormmon. You know I have a problem with judging people, and I just want to be extra careful when we're dealing with Ken. I mean, we still don't know that much about him. He's already been evil once before, so I figure, what's to keep him from turning again?" she asked. Takeru spoke up for the first time since Ken had been taken.  
  
"I think...I think we should tell his parents. They'll realize sooner or later that he isn't coming home, and then they'll think he ran away again. After we tell them about Ken, then we should go look for him. He is one of us, after all, and we can't just abandon him, even if he has turned evil again. We need to prove our friendship with him," he said. The others nodded.  
  
"So, who wants to tell his parents?" Iori asked.   
  
"I will. I've been over there a couple of times, so they know me better," Daisuke suggested.  
  
"Okay, try to break it to them gently. Wormmon, will you stay with me until we look for Ken?" Koushiro asked. Wormmon nodded silently, his shoulders shaking as he continued to cry. Koushiro patted his trembling body comfortingly.   
  
"I suggest the rest of us go home. Daisuke can send us each an e-mail after he's told Ken's parents the news. Then we can all meet back here to go into the Digital World," Iori proposed.  
  
"Right. Oh, and Koushiro, will you watch over V-mon while I talk to Ken's parents? He would just draw unnecessary attention to me," Daisuke told him.  
  
"Of course," Koushiro replied. V-mon gave Daisuke a reassuring hug goodbye and stood by Koushiro.  
  
"Well, I'll see you all later," Daisuke said and walked out.  
  
"I'm going to stay here until you all get back. In the meantime, try to take your minds off of the situation. I'll use the computers to try and pinpoint his location, or at least the area he might be in," Koushiro said. The others nodded. Iori, Takeru, and Miyako decided to leave together, as they lived in the same building. Hikari turned to Koushiro after they and their Digimon had left.  
  
"Good luck," she said. He smiled slightly.  
  
"I'll do my best to locate him," he replied. Scooping Tailmon up in her arms, Hikari left the room to go home, her head bowed in thought. V-mon looked out the window as Daisuke had done earlier, thinking. Koushiro booted up the computer.  
  
"I just hope we can find him in time," he said softly. Wormmon lifted his tear-stained face to stare up at him.  
  
"We will find him! Ken-chan must be so scared without me to protect him! I have to make sure he isn't hurt!" he exclaimed. Koushiro stared at the black and white map of the Digital World. It was a complete labyrinth; there were millions of possible places where Ken could be kept prisoner. Koushiro began systematically checking each area with dark towers as he kept one hand on Wormmon's back, to console the little Digimon.  
  
"Ken, please be alright," he whispered.  
  
* * *  
  
Daisuke slowly walked along the cold winter streets towards Ken's apartment building. He recalled when he had first come to that apartment, after Ken had run away from home. He had only been looking to confront his adversary, and wasn't concerned about him at all. He had only cared that Ken was conquering the Digital World while he sat there, doing nothing. So much had changed since then. Now he was trying to think of some way to break the news of Ken's kidnapping to his parents gently. None came to mind. How could you be kind when you were telling someone that his or her loved one was probably being tortured at that moment?  
  
Just the thought of Ken being tortured made Daisuke's blood boil. Ken really was a very kind and gentle boy, once the dark influence had left him. He had felt so terrible about the things he had done as the Digimon Kaiser, and tried to repay everyone with kindness. He never lashed out at anyone like Miyako could, and showed the Digimon and his fellow Chosen Children nothing but compassion. Even Iori, who he hadn't gotten along with at first, had been starting to become friends with him. Daisuke smiled faintly.  
  
"He really does deserve the Crest of Kindness," he mused. Daisuke knew that Ken was very fragile emotionally and mentally. Wormmon's death had has a shattering effect on him, and he never seemed to fully recover from it. Ken was also greatly affected by the powers of darkness, having been consumed by them for so long. Even mentioning them seemed to disturb him. He would always get quieter, and got a distant, pained look on his face. Several times, when they had been close to areas emitting massive amounts of black energy, the pull of darkness at him had been so strong that Ken would clutch his head and begin screaming, like he were fighting an internal battle. Daisuke really admired Ken for his ability to withstand the evil forces that constantly tried to take hold of him.  
  
As the apartment building came into view, Daisuke began to get nervous. He still wasn't sure what he was going to say to Ken's parents. Entering the drab, gray building, his footsteps echoed in the silent halls. It was almost as if everyone were already anticipating the news with heavy hearts. Daisuke climbed the stairs to the top floor. Taking a deep breath to calm his distressed nerves, he reached up and knocked on the door.  
  
* * *  
  
Takeru lay on his bed, thinking. Patamon rested next to him, and he put an arm around his Digimon. Patamon moved closer, silently comforting him. He thought about how terrible it would be for Ken, without anyone to console him when he needed it most. Takeru fought a wave of fury as he thought about what was happening to Ken. The forces of darkness were always there, always trying to make life miserable for someone.  
  
'Why can't they leave us alone?' he thought. It wasn't fair. Ken just wanted to live a normal life, with friends that he could trust, and then evil imprisoned him again. He didn't want to be hurt, he didn't want to be alone and friendless, but no one seemed to care what Ken wanted. They wanted to make Ken feel abandoned, like no one in the world would care about him. Takeru knew that they wanted to hurt Ken, but for what purpose he had no idea. What he did know was that he had to stop them. He couldn't abandon Ken, not after they had become friends.  
  
Of course, he had hated Ken when he was the Digimon Kaiser, but Ken had turned his life around. He had joined up with them and proved that he was the kindest boy they had ever met. He had earned each Chosen child's respect and friendship. If the powers of darkness were trying to rob him of that, Takeru wouldn't stand for it. Even if darkness once again gained control over Ken, Takeru would be there, trying to convince him that he treasured his friendship with him.   
  
Just then, Takeru's door opened. A voice from the doorway asked,   
  
"Takeru?" Shifting on the bed so he faced the door, he started slightly. Yamato was standing there, looking slightly puzzled and curious.  
  
"Mom called me. She said you seemed depressed and asked me to come over. Is there something wrong?" he asked. Takeru rolled over so his back was to his brother.  
  
"No, it's nothing. I'm fine," he replied, his voice shaking slightly.   
  
"Are you sure? You know, Takeru, you can tell me anything. I'm your brother and I care for you. So, if there ever is anything wrong, you know you can talk to me about it, right?" Yamato asked.   
  
"Yes. I know," he said. By now his voice was shaking more than just slightly. Yamato didn't say anything about it though, and turned to go. Takeru sat up.  
  
"Y-Yamato?" he asked softly. His brother turned around and his eyes widened slightly in surprise. Tears were falling from Takeru's eyes. Yamato walked over and sat down on the bed next to him, pulling his brother into a hug. Takeru began crying softly into his brother's shoulder.  
  
"What is it Takeru?" he asked quietly.  
  
"It's Ken. Ken's been kidnapped. Yamato, no one should have to suffer as much as he does. It-it just isn't fair," he whispered. Yamato tensed slightly at the news.  
  
"Kidnapped?" he asked, concerned.  
  
"They're going to hurt him. I just know that Arkenimon is going to do something terrible to him! I don't think he can hold out against them for much longer." Yamato understood what Takeru meant. All too well he remembered when darkness had tried to take hold of him, how he felt so alone and abandoned. As his own painful memories resurfaced and flooded his mind, he pulled his brother tighter to him, silently hoping they could find Ken before he was subjected to that pain again.  
  
* * *  
  
Iori and Miyako sat in his room in silence. The food his mother had given them was left untouched. Hawkmon stood next to Miyako, leaning his head against her shoulder. Upaamon was in lying in Iori's arms. After a long moment of quiet, Iori looked into Miyako's eyes.  
  
"Do you think Daisuke has told Ken's parents yet?" he asked her. She put her arm around Hawkmon and pulled him close to her.  
  
"I don't know. I just hope he broke it to them gently. Knowing Daisuke, he probably-" she cut off as she burst into tears. Iori stood quickly and knelt by her.  
  
"Miyako, did I say something to upset you?" he asked worriedly. She shook her head and continued sobbing into her hands. Upaamon jumped from Iori's arms into Miyako's lap.   
  
"Then what's wrong?" he questioned. She looked up at him, tears still streaming from her eyes.  
  
"Oh, Iori. It's just- Ken. Daisuke and Takeru and everyone are going to look for him without questioning anything. All I did was sit there and refuse to trust him! I'm sure he's going to hate me for not believing in him! I didn't even think of how horrible this must be for him!" she cried. Iori held her shoulders, looking into her eyes.  
  
"Miyako, listen to me. You were right to question him. We don't know if has given in or not, and, like Koushiro said, we have to keep all of the possibilities open. I know I'm not going to trust him until we have this whole ordeal sorted out. But, we'll never find out if he's really turned evil again until we find him," he told her. Miyako pulled him into a hug, her confused cries never ceasing.  
  
* * *  
  
"Why, hello Daisuke! What a pleasant surprise!"  
  
"H-hello, Mrs. Ichijouji. How are you?"   
  
"I'm fine, thank you. Daisuke, dear, wasn't Ken with you earlier?"   
  
Daisuke squirmed a little.  
  
"Yes. Yes, he was." A small frown graced the woman's normally cheerful features.  
  
"Well, where is he?" Daisuke squirmed again.  
  
"Is your husband home?"  
  
"Yes...but what has that got to do with Ken?" There was confusion in her voice.  
  
"Could I come inside? I have to tell you both something. It's about Ken." Her face changed from puzzled to worried.  
  
"He wasn't hurt was he?!" she exclaimed, a definite edge of fear in her voice.   
  
"I don't know. Please, could you get Mr. Ichijouji?" Daisuke asked, a little desperate. She nodded, her face paler than normal, and let him inside. He sat in a chair in the living room of the apartment. She went into another room and came out with Mr. Ichijouji. Their faces held worry and fear as they sat on a couch opposite him.  
  
"Daisuke, tell us what happened to Ken," Mr. Ichijouji ordered, not bothering to hide the trembling in his voice.  
  
"Ken...well...he..." Daisuke said, searching for some way to gently say what he needed to.   
  
"Daisuke, what?! Where is Ken?!" Mrs. Ichijouji exclaimed.  
  
"Ken was...kidnapped," he said quietly. Mrs. Ichijouji slowly put a hand to her mouth as tears began falling from her eyes.  
  
"No," she whispered, then louder, "no, NO! Daisuke he wasn't! Tell me he wasn't!" she cried, sobs cutting her voice. Mr. Ichijouji looked directly into Daisuke's eyes, his gaze threatening as he spoke.  
  
"If this is some kind of sick joke..." he began.  
  
"I swear it isn't a joke! We-we tried to stop them but-but..." Daisuke whispered as tears began to fall from his eyes. He bit his lip, not wanting to cry in front of Ken's parents. He wanted to be strong for them.  
  
Mrs. Ichijouji buried her face in her hands, sobbing. Her husband wrapped his arms around her, letting tears of his own fall down his face.  
  
"What are we going to do?! Who knows what they'll do to him!" she cried. Daisuke stood up, brushing his tears away, his face determined. He would find Ken for his friend's parents. They couldn't bear any more suffering than they had already had to endure.  
  
"I promise you we'll find him before anything happens to him! We're going to look for him right away!" he said.  
  
"Daisuke, I think the police would be better suited for-"  
  
"No! I know what it seems like, but trust me, we're the only ones who can find your son! I promise we'll bring him back safely!" he said. Mrs. Ichijouji looked to him, pleading.  
  
"Please find him," she whispered. He nodded.  
  
"I will." And with that, Daisuke sprinted out of the building and began running towards the school, where the Digital World and Ken waited for him.  
  
* * *  
  
Hikari sat in her room, staring out the window. She was thinking. Ken was imprisoned. Those three words kept repeating in her mind. She kept telling herself that he was going to be alright, that he wouldn't be broken. But was it true? She knew how hard it was to resist the darkness. The dark ocean had already surrounded her before, and every time she felt the presence of darkness, it grew harder to fight. She guessed that that was what it was like for Ken as well. She shuddered. It was so terrible, the feelings of emptiness and nothingness. The dark water surrounding her, drowning her.  
  
Was it too much for Ken? Did he break under the dark influence? Koushiro had said that it would be easier for Ken to be manipulated, he had been evil before...but Hikari pictured the Ken she knew. Not the cold, heartless Digimon Kaiser, but the kind, quiet, shy boy she had come to know as a friend. The boy who was always gentle, who treated his Digimon with so much love and compassion. To see him tormented and hurt was almost unbearable. Hikari vowed to never let that happen. She wouldn't be able to live with herself if Ken were hurt by evil. She had to protect their friendship; she had to make sure the Ken she knew was never destroyed.  
  
"Ken, I will protect you," she whispered into the winter air.  
  
* * *  
  
"Did you find him?" Wormmon asked. Koushiro shook his head. Wormmon sat back, looking like he was about to cry again.  
  
"Hey, don't be so sad. I haven't found his exact location yet, but by communicating with Tentomon and the others, I was able to pinpoint an area of about 25 kilometers, and I'm almost positive that he's somewhere in there. Now we only have to wait for the others to come, and we can start looking for him," he told the Digimon. Wormmon's expression brightened drastically.   
  
"Daisuke!" V-mon cried, just as he burst through the door. He was completely out of breath and his face was wet with tears. V-mon came up to him.  
  
"Did...you...find...anything...Koushiro?" Daisuke asked between heavy breaths. Koushiro nodded.  
  
"I found the general area he's in," he replied. Daisuke sighed in relief.  
  
"We should tell the others to come now," V-mon said to Daisuke. He gave his Digimon a quick nod and e-mailed the others.  
  
After a half an hour, Takeru, Yamato, Hikari, Iori, and Miyako had all joined them along with their Digimon. Everyone looked as though they had been crying, but also appeared determined to find their friend. Hikari turned to Daisuke.  
  
"How did Ken's parents take the news?" she asked.  
  
"How would you expect them to take it?" he replied wearily. She gave his shoulder a small, reassuring squeeze.  
  
"We'll find him," she said. Koushiro faced the group.  
  
"Takeru and Hikari, you're one group, and you'll take this area," he said, pointing to a section on the map of the Digital World. They nodded.  
  
"Daisuke and Miyako, you're another group. You're going to look here," he told them, pointing to another area. Daisuke's gaze was fixed on the computer, obviously anxious to look for Ken.  
  
"Yamato, are you going to help us look for Ken?" Koushiro asked him. Yamato glanced quickly to his younger brother and nodded.  
  
"Then you and Iori are the last group. You'll look in the remaining section," he said, showing them where to go.  
  
"Yamato, could you take Wormmon to look with you? I need to stay back here and monitor your progress. And Wormmon wants to search for Ken too."   
  
"Of course he can come with me. I'd be glad to take him," Yamato replied. Wormmon jumped down from the table to stand by him. Koushiro stepped back from the computer and Daisuke stood in front of it.  
  
"Digital Gate open!" he said, holding up his D-3. The Digital Gate blinked open to their destination.   
  
Before entering, Daisuke thought, 'Ken, just hold on. We're coming!' 


	4. Torture

Covered In Darkness  
  
By QG  
  
Editor: Aria, Shippouchan, Keyanna  
  
Chapter Four: Torture  
  
The whip whistled through the air before cracking sharply into my back. I cried out and staggered forward from the force of the blow. It was hard to steady myself; my arms had been rendered useless after being chained together at my wrists. After regaining my balance, I stood still, waiting for my enemy to make a move, while trying to ignore the stinging pain in my back.  
  
As I heard the six legs clicking slowly over the stone floor of the dimly lit room, I could feel the fear build inside of me. It was unlike anything I had experienced before; this was raw, pure terror that gripped every inch of my body. Not the whip or even Arkenimon inspired such fear in me. It was the feeling of evil, that horrid sensation of darkness clutching at me, trying to find a lapse in my defenses and gain a hold over me. I was so deeply frightened of what I would become if I gave in again, of how many people and Digimon I would hurt. I knew Arkenimon was going to do whatever she could to turn me back to darkness, and what frightened me the most was that I knew she could do it. I knew my will was weak, that I would break under the dark influence. And Arkenimon knew it. She knew how vulnerable I was, how to exploit my greatest fears. That was what terrified me the most; I could be broken, and she knew it.  
  
Arkenimon crawled in front of me, looming over my prone body. She was quite fearsome in her Digimon form. Her body was larger and more rotund. She was at least three times my size, a deep red in color, with purple and white stripes lining her body and six legs. Her face was more spider-like than before, with larger eyes, a more pointed structure, and long fangs. Her hair was a wild, untamed white mane down her back. Her hands were white, with spider-shaped gems on the backs. They were much larger than before, and ended in razor-sharp claws. In those hands lay her long, leather whip.   
  
She took hold of my chin with one hand. I narrowed my eyes as she pulled up my face, studying it with disapproval. She clicked her tongue.   
  
"So much potential. I don't know why you wasted it all. You know, Kaiser," she smirked as I flinched visibly at the name, "you and I could have gone so far."  
  
"Don't call me that," I growled. I was not the Kaiser. I would never be him again. Never. Arkenimon feigned innocence.  
  
"Oh, why? I thought you liked being called that. Along with 'master', but that was only your pitiful Wormmon, wasn't it?" I glared at her with hatred in my eyes.  
  
"Don't you EVER talk about Wormmon like that!" I snarled, anger rising in me. She didn't even seem to have heard me. She merely released my chin and sighed.  
  
"Kaiser, why ever did you leave me? We could have accomplished so much together. If only you had stayed by my side; I would have made your dreams come true," she said sadly.  
  
"What dreams? To cause pain and suffering? To have the blood of countless Digimon staining my hands? You told me yourself that you were just using me so I would build dark towers for you. Why would you care what happened to me?" I asked in an attempt to sound defiant. Fear still gripped my body, holding me captive as I tried to defend myself. Arkenimon laughed.  
  
"Of course I care about you. I've had a special interest in you from the beginning. I saw so much promise in you, not just as the Digimon Kaiser, but as one of the strongest possessors of darkness. If only you hadn't left us when we had progressed so far. I guess we'll just have to fix that, now that you've returned to us. I was worried for a while that the dark influence had left you. But now you've come back and we can make everything right again. What do you think of that, Kaiser?" she asked, leaning in close to me.   
  
"I think you're insane," I whispered. She smiled slightly.  
  
"You're an intelligent boy. You'll soon come to see things my way, I assure you," she purred.  
  
"Wormmon and Daisuke and all the others will come for me. They won't let you get away with this."  
  
"Will they now? You seem to be putting quite a lot of trust in them."  
  
"Why shouldn't I?" I growled. I was sure they were going to save me. I knew I wouldn't have the strength to withstand darkness without my friends.  
  
"Your friends aren't coming," she said. No. That wasn't true! They were coming. They were going to come and rescue me. They wouldn't abandon me. No matter what they'd thought of me before, they wouldn't leave me here...would they?  
  
"They'll come for me..." I said quietly. She heard the blatant uncertainty in my voice.  
  
"What if they think you've already joined forces with me? What then? Will they still come for you?" I didn't answer, only averted my eyes. I just didn't know. I wanted to believe myself, to be sure that they would stay by me no matter what, but...what if they did leave me?  
  
"But...Daisuke...Wormmon..." I whispered. They were the truest friends I had. The others liked me, I was pretty sure of that...but...Miyako rarely ever put her complete trust in me, and Iori was still suspicious of my intentions. Daisuke and Wormmon were the only friends I knew I could trust. They wouldn't abandon me. My mind flashed back to when Wormmon and V-mon had first jogressed. I had felt Daisuke's heart beating in my own chest. He was the first person who reached out to me after I had done such terrible things to him and his friends. He treated everyone he met as an equal, and offered me friendship when I had nothing. He wouldn't abandon me, not after all we had been through together...would he?  
  
"That Daisuke friend of yours isn't worth your time. How do you even know if he cares about you? He could be manipulating you, using your vulnerability to his own advantage, and convincing you to have Wormmon jogress with V-mon. This 'friendship' he claims to have given you could be a façade, to use you for your crest and Digimon." My eyes widened with each word. The thought of Daisuke, the first friend I ever made, manipulating me felt like my heart was shattering. If I didn't have friends, who could I turn to? Who could I depend on? Who would be there for me?  
  
Wormmon. Wormmon, who had stayed by my side, even after I had done such horrible things to him. Was I worth that much to him? That he would even sacrifice himself to save me? I was, because he had died for me. But I didn't deserve it. I had turned into a monster, had done such cruel acts that still haunted me in nightmares. I had been so heartless to all Digimon, but especially to him. He had tried to find the redeeming qualities in me, to hope that there was still kindness left in my blackened heart. I had called him worthless, useless, had kicked and whipped him. Yet, he had stayed by my side, never complaining, and had given me his love.   
  
I realized, as I had done many times before, that he should have someone who was worthy of him. I knew he needed someone who would treat him like a living creature. I didn't want to believe it, but I just didn't deserve his friendship. I had done so many terrible things to him; he deserved someone who wouldn't hurt him for loving them. I wasn't worthy of his friendship.  
  
"Do you realize it now?" she asked.  
  
"I...I..." I didn't want to believe her. I didn't want to face her words, her accusations.  
  
"You can't deny what you know is the truth. Your so-called friends aren't going to come and save you. Why would they want to? You're so tainted with darkness that you could never become one of them. And after what you did to them, they would never accept you as a friend." Each word cut into me like a rusty knife. With all my heart, I didn't want to accept what she said as the truth. But it was. I knew it was. Deep down, I knew they weren't going to come for me. Why would they, after everything I had done to them as the Kaiser? I felt tears form in my eyes, threatening to spill down my face. I bit my lip to force them back. I wouldn't cry. Not in front of her. Arkenimon stroked my cheek, tilting my face up in the process.  
  
"Poor, misguided child. Don't worry, we'll soon set you on the correct path." Something about her voice made a shiver of fear pass through me. She was going to hurt me. I had to find strength, something to fight back. But the only strength I had was hope. And my only hope was my friends. I delved down deep inside of me, to try to come up with some reassurance that my friends still cared about me.  
  
'They are coming. I know they are!' I told myself. I narrowed my eyes at Arkenimon.  
  
"My friends wouldn't leave me alone with such a cruel, sadistic witch! They're coming for me!" I spoke with defiance. I saw the anger on her face and my spark of courage was instantly replaced by terror.  
  
"A witch, am I?" she asked softly. "Why...you...insolent little brat!" She yelled the last before drawing back and slapping me full-force across the face. My eyes widened and I let out a small yelp as I slammed into the ground. Momentarily stunned by pain, I lay there, my cheek burning. I heard Arkenimon tighten the whip in her hands, pulling the leather taught. Again the immense fear of pain shot through my body. I tried to push myself up, to protect my open back, but failed miserably. With my hands chained like they were, it was nearly impossible to get any leverage.   
  
The fear inside me intensified, a ball of solid iron in my stomach. Arkenimon stood over me, cackling. I involuntarily trembled. It was so hard to hide how petrified I was. She knew it too; that was why she was enjoying it. She knew I was terrified, and that made me vulnerable.   
  
"Poor, lost little lamb. You delude yourself so much. It's time you realized the truth. Your so-called friends don't care about you. They never will. If they did, would they let me do this to you?" I heard the whip whistle through the air before it sliced into my back, cutting though my shirt and into my skin like a million knives. I cried out.  
  
"Well, Ken? Where are they? Your precious friends, coming to rescue you?" The whip bore down on my back, biting into it again.  
  
"They're going to leave you, alone and abandoned. If they cared about you, would they let this happen? Would they?" Again and again, the whip sliced across my back, cracking as it broke through the skin. My shirt was torn and soaked in blood. My muscles trembled from tenseness and pain. I could only think about one thing.  
  
My friends wouldn't let me get hurt. If they truly cared about me, they wouldn't let this happen. I felt the tears in my eyes, hot, painful. As the whip slashed across my back again, the tears fell. Once they began, they would not stop, and they kept falling as my body endured the fierce punishment. They fell to the ground, mixing with the pool of blood that was beginning to spread from under me, flowing from the gashes in my back. My heart ached. It felt like it too had been shattered by Arkenimon's whip. My friends weren't coming. They didn't care about me. A sob was torn from my throat, strangled and painful. Arkenimon's laugh filled my ears as she drove the whip into my back again.  
  
"Ken, it's time you realized just how weak-"   
  
Crack!  
  
"pathetic-"  
  
Crack!  
  
"and alone you are." Pain washed over my body, flooding my senses. The stinging throb of the lashes pulsed in every vein. My clothes were soaked with blood, my back torn open by whip slashes. I shut my eyes tightly, but it was not enough to keep back my sobs of utter agony from the searing, burning pain that gripped my body.   
  
Arkenimon finally relented in her punishment. I opened my eyes slightly; that was the only action I had the strength to do. I felt her bend down over me and unfasten the chains that bound my wrists. My arms fell limply to my sides; I couldn't lift them. She threw the chains and whip to the ground beside me; the latter was covered in deep, red blood, splattering the ground with it as it landed. I shut my eyes again at the horror of it. I heard her slowly start to walk away from me, towards the other end of the room.   
  
When I found the strength to open my eyes again, I gasped at what I saw. The five Chosen Children and Wormmon stood before me, staring down at me. I looked up at them with pleading, helpless eyes.  
  
"Help me...please..." I whispered, my voice contorted with pain. Iori glared down at me with contempt. He slowly turned around, walking off with his back to me.  
  
"I-Iori...no..." Miyako stepped forward.  
  
"Please...don't...leave...me..." I pleaded with her. However, she too gave me a hate-filled look, and turned away from me.   
  
"M-Miyako...why..." Takeru stood over me.   
  
"T-Takeru...help me...p-please..." Fresh tears were falling from my eyes. Takeru turned around with a cold glance and walked away. Hikari bent down to look at me. A spark of hope leapt through me, but it soon vanished, as her look was full of malice. She turned around and followed the others.  
  
"H-Hikari...p-please...come...back..." I was getting desperate. There was no one who would help me. They must have seen the evil residing in my body, the horrible feelings and memories that stained my soul, making me impure and unworthy of their friendship. If only one of them would help me!  
  
"D-Daisuke...please..." I begged. "Please...d-don't...leave...me alone...I-I...need...you to...help me...p-please..." I felt my heart wrenching as my friend's features darkened into a contemptuous glare. Tears spilled down my face. They were all leaving me. They didn't care about me. The people I trusted the most in all the world were abandoning me, leaving me alone where I could be consumed by darkness.  
  
My Digimon crawled up to me, his blue eyes staring into mine. I felt like a knife had been driven straight into my heart as Wormmon's kind and gentle face, which had never before shown any loathing, formed a look of pure hatred. Choking sobs wracked my body as the little Digimon turned his back on me and walked off with the others. I found just enough strength to hold out a trembling hand.  
  
"Wormmon...no...please...no!" I cried. The six figures of my friends faded into darkness, leaving me alone. The last one I saw to fade was that of my Digimon, the one that had cut straight into my heart, into my soul, killing the last spark of hope that I had clung to.  
  
"Wormmon...please...come...back...Wormmon...Wormmon...WORMMON!!!" 


	5. Preparations

Covered In Darkness  
  
By QG  
  
Editors: Aria, Keyanna, Eliza, Ryze, Lily  
  
Chapter Five: Preparations  
  
"WORMMON!!!"  
  
Arkenimon paused in the doorway as Ken screamed the name of his Digimon partner. It seemed odd...disturbing for some reason. Ken had been desperately calling out to...someone. He was pleading with whoever it was to help him, like they were standing right in front of him, only it was as if they refused to assist him, abandoning him. The names he had used, Daisuke, Miyako, Iori, Takeru, Hikari. Those were his pathetic little friends. And, of course, there was his pitiful Digimon partner. However, his actions were odd. She didn't recall asking any Bakemon to pose as his friends and toy with his mind...yet. She shrugged and began to dismiss his actions as mere hallucinations, brought on by the beating, but she wondered. Were the images of his friends Ken was seeing inflicted by the pain and blood loss or perhaps...something else?  
  
Arkenimon glanced back at Ken. He had collapsed and was lying face down, unconscious, on the stone floor. His shirt was ripped almost in half and the pale gray fabric was stained red with blood. His back had been torn open from the repeated whip slashes and he lay sprawled in a pool of his own blood. It filled her with a sense of sick pleasure to see him like that, defenseless, with blood flowing from the wounds she caused. After a moment of reveling in his pain she tore her gaze away from his beaten form and focused her attention to the matter at hand: his hallucinations.  
  
'Was what he saw really brought on by the pain? Or was it that the powers of darkness are taking hold over him faster than I could have imagined?' she mused.  
  
After a minute of puzzlement, she shrugged. Whatever the reason, Ken's will and resistance were growing extremely weak. His trust in his friends was crumbling so effortlessly. All of his fears and doubts were so easy to amplify and use against him; he made them all so obvious. After everything she had done, he was becoming more vulnerable by the minute. Arkenimon smirked. It wouldn't be long before he would give in completely...  
  
But none of that would happen until he regained consciousness. That wouldn't be for several hours at least. Of course, his wounds would also have to be tended to. Even then, he would be in no condition for any more physical torture. She would have to think of a different way to break him; she wasn't going through all of this trouble just to have him die from too much physical abuse. Arkenimon sighed in annoyance. That brat was giving her more trouble than he should have.  
  
She morphed back into her gijinka form and walked out of the cell, heaving the door closed and bolting it shut behind her. She paused for a moment to touch the cool stone of the lock and smirked.  
  
"If only Ken knew what surrounded him. He hasn't realized yet that he is in more danger than he thinks," she whispered.  
  
Turning away from the cell and her pathetic prisoner, Arkenimon began walking briskly down the halls, searching for Mummymon. Her boots clicked authoritatively on the stone floors, causing her dark tower Digimon creations to scurry out of her path. She found Mummymon in the control room, fiddling with the old monitors they had discovered in the rubble used for creating the new base. He looked up as she entered and instantly brightened when he noticed her.  
  
"How did it go, my sweet?" he asked. Normally, Arkenimon would yell at him for his ridiculous nicknames, but the feeling of her upcoming success with Ken had put her in a good mood, so she paid no attention to them.  
  
"Better than was expected. I don't think he'll be able to hold out for a couple more days, much less a week. It's surprisingly easy to twist a child's mind, especially one as naïve and vulnerable as Ken's," she replied.  
  
"Perfect."  
  
"Mummymon, do a favor for me."  
  
"Anything, dearest!"  
  
"Summon one of the dark tower Digimon. I need one of them to tend to Ken. Let's just say I had to resort to some...alternate methods to convince him of some things." Mummymon shook his head in mock disbelief.  
  
"I can't believe it; doing such cruel things to an innocent child," he said sadly, but smiled. "That's why I love you." Arkenimon rolled her eyes but smirked at his approval of her methods.  
  
"Oh, about Ken. I know the perfect Digimon we can send to help him," Arkenimon snickered. "Let's go find it." They started to walk out of the control room when suddenly she gasped as she remembered something.  
  
"Mummymon, did you do as I asked you to?" she asked, concerned. He smiled and picked up an audio cassette tape that was lying on a monitor. He held it out to Arkenimon.  
  
"Here. I recorded it all, just like you asked me to," he said. She took the cassette and smiled, relieved.  
  
"Good work."  
  
"What are you going to do with it?" Mummymon inquired, puzzled.   
  
Arkenimon looked over at the monitors he had been working on.  
  
"Have you gotten them to work yet?"  
  
"I think they'll work in about half an hour. Why?" Arkenimon's smile widened and her eyes took on a malicious gleam.  
  
"First, we'll take care of Ken. Then, fix these monitors. Once they work, I want you to find his little friends for me. I'm positive that they're searching for him by now. I think they have to hear a little something, just to let them know how their precious Ken is doing." 


	6. Searching

Covered In Darkness  
  
By QG  
  
Editors: Aria, Keyanna  
  
Chapter Six: Searching  
  
"Ken! Ken, where are you? If you can hear me, answer me!" Daisuke yelled into the depths of the temple. The group had split up upon entering the Digital World, and he and Miyako had separated again from Shurimon and XV-mon, to cover more ground. That was when they had discovered the temple they were currently searching through. It was made of rough stone, with the odd symbols that were found on many structures in the Digital World carved into the walls. The temple resembled nothing so much as a labyrinth, and was dark. Very dark. It seemed like the perfect place to hide someone, except that there wasn't any sign of Ken, Arkenimon, or Mummymon at all. All Miyako and Daisuke had managed to uncover were deserted rooms with overgrown foliage covering the crumbled walls.  
  
"It doesn't look like he's in here. Maybe we should try some place else," Miyako said softly as she put in a half-effort to try to shift some stones from one of the many caved-in walls, in hopes of discovering another room. Daisuke frowned as he came over to help her.  
  
"We have to keep looking," he told her, and thought, 'If we miss him, I'm never gonna' forgive myself!' Miyako sat back to stare at her friend.  
  
"Well, we've checked this place twice over. I don't think we're going to find him here. We might as well check some place else instead of wasting time here," she said, standing and brushing off her hands.  
  
"We're staying, and that's that. We don't know if there's a room or not behind this wall and we have to look!" he replied. Miyako frowned slightly at his sharpness.  
  
"I've never seen you like this, Daisuke. Is there something wrong?" she asked.  
  
"No, I'm fine."  
  
"So, why are you so obsessed with finding Ken?" Daisuke didn't look up at her, only continued to mechanically push the rocks aside.  
  
"I'm his friend," he said simply. "I can't let him suffer any more than he already has." Miyako's frown deepened.  
  
"But, Daisuke...what if he's already given in to Arkenimon? You heard Koushiro; Ken would be easier to break than one of us-"  
  
"Miyako, he is one of us!" Daisuke cut her off, looking up to stare at her angrily. She was instantly silenced, startled at his outburst. Daisuke had never shouted at anyone like that before.  
  
"Daisuke, how can he be?" she asked. His eyes widened in surprise before he lowered his face and began sucking in deep breaths through his teeth, trying to suppress white-hot anger.  
  
"Ken has been trying this whole time to become friends with us, to prove that he's changed his ways. All we've done is continue to doubt him and deny him what he needs the most. He needs friends, Miyako. He needs friends he can rely on to help him when he's hurt or scared. If we were good enough friends then we wouldn't have to worry about him giving in to darkness. But all we do for him is cast him off and tell him he's not good enough to be part of our team. Well I'm sick and tired of hurting him like that! I don't care what you're going to do, but I want to be his friend, and I want to help him!" Miyako was stunned. She had never seen Daisuke this angry or sincere before. After letting his words sink in, he glared at her before turning his head away and going back to clearing the rubble. Miyako stood there, frozen.  
  
Daisuke paused in his work. He hadn't meant to blow up at Miyako like that, but she wasn't leaving him much other choice. She could just be so inconsiderate sometimes! He sighed softly. She didn't know how much Ken had to suffer, how many times Daisuke had seen the poor boy in tears over everything that had happened to him. Ken had been hurt so much already that Daisuke wouldn't be able to stand it if he were hurt any more. But...Ken was being hurt again. Daisuke had seen it.   
  
His mind flashed back to hours before, when he had been chasing after the truck that had taken Ken away. He had yelled Ken's name over and over, trying desperately to will his exhausted legs to keep running. He kept yelling and yelling, even though his throat felt raw, as that was the only way he knew how to reach his friend. Suddenly, when he was just about to give up, he had seen Ken's face in the window and heard him pounding his fists on the door of the truck, trying to break it open. Ken had looked so terrified, so helpless. Daisuke had increased his failing speed and tried to reach the truck, hoping he could be able to help Ken when suddenly, Ken's hands flew to his head and he had screamed in pain. Daisuke had seen him do this several times before. The powers of darkness had been trying to control him again, to force him to do their bidding. Daisuke had tried desperately to catch up with the truck, so he could help Ken, but his legs just would not go any further, and he had fallen to his knees in exhaustion. As the truck drove through a Digital Gate and disappeared, Daisuke had slammed his fists into the street, enraged at his inability to help Ken when he was being hurt.  
  
'It isn't fair. Why does he have to suffer so much? Can't they just leave him alone?' he thought. Suddenly, a noise to his side caught his attention. Miyako knelt down again and was moving the rocks aside, to help him. She turned to him with apologetic eyes.  
  
"Daisuke...I-I'm sorry. It was wrong of me to judge Ken like that. I'm going to help you look anywhere you think we should, so we can find him...okay?" she asked. He smiled in gratitude.  
  
"Thank you, Miyako."   
  
They continued to clear away the stones. As they worked, Daisuke thought, 'Ken, we're going to find you. We're not going to let the darkness take you. Don't give up hope.'  
  
* * *  
  
"Ken-chan! Ken-chan! Please answer me, Ken-chan! I'm here to protect you!" Wormmon shouted. He was crawling some ways ahead of Iori and Yamato, alongside Garurumon, who was also calling out for Ken. Digmon was searching below them in the Digital World's underground systems. They were in a forest, full of lush plant life and the occasional misplaced road sign, but had uncovered no sign of Ken or his captors.  
  
"Ken! Are you there?"  
  
"Yamato, do you think I could talk to you for a minute?" Iori asked his older companion. The other boy looked at him curiously and slowed his pace so they were out of hearing range from Wormmon and Garurumon.   
  
"What is it, Iori?" he asked. The Chosen Child of Knowledge and Faith looked uneasy.  
  
"I was just wondering how you can trust Ken," he said quietly. Yamato's features sharpened into a confused frown.  
  
"What do you mean?" he asked, puzzled. Iori squirmed slightly, seemingly trying to find the right words.  
  
"Well, you saw how awful he was when he was the Kaiser. What if he's reverted back into that state? Koushiro said it would be easier for him than for any of us. How can you just go off to look for him without knowing what he'll be like when we find him? Don't you care that he could hurt you and everyone you care about if he's given in?" he asked. Yamato stopped walking and stared at Iori. After a minute, his look softened and he smiled slightly.   
  
"I can look for him because I want to be his friend. From what I know of him, he's seems like a wonderful boy, and I want to be friends with him. There's nothing more to it than that," he replied. Iori still looked puzzled.  
  
"Listen, Iori. The powers of darkness want to make whoever their victim is feel alone and frightened. So, if Arkenimon is aiming to turn Ken evil again, she is going to try to make it seem like no one cares about him. All we can do for him right now is look for him and try to let him know that he has friends who care about him. Even if he does give in, we can still prove to him that we're his friends, and that might be enough to turn him back. I can try to prove that I want to be his friend and that I want to help him," Yamato explained. Iori frowned slightly, processing the information.  
  
"So, you don't care that he might hurt you? You're still going to try to be friends with him no matter what?" he asked.  
  
"Exactly. It's the least I can do for him. What about you?" the older boy asked. Iori's frown remained.  
  
"I'm just not sure yet." Yamato smiled at him.  
  
"Well, I bet you'll realize what you have to do soon enough. C'mon, let's go see if Wormmon has found anything."  
  
* * *  
  
"Did you find anything?" Takeru called to Hikari from Pegasumon. She came out of the small hut and shook her head.  
  
"No one in this village knows anything about Ken being kidnapped," she replied. Takeru and his Digimon landed next to her. He looked around for her Digimon.  
  
"Where's Tailmon?" he asked.  
  
"She's in the next village. Did you get any information?" Takeru shook his head.  
  
"No. Nobody in the town I checked knew where Arkenimon or Ken were," he replied. Hikari hugged herself.  
  
"Takeru, I don't like this at all. Arkenimon can't be that well-hidden and if there were humans here, the Digimon would know it."  
  
"I know what you mean. It's like they just disappeared." Hikari's grip on her arms tightened.  
  
"I'm scared for him, Takeru. I can feel the darkness and it's growing bigger. If we ever want to see Ken again, we're going to have to find him soon. I don't think he's going to be able to hold out much longer," she whispered, fear in her voice. Takeru touched her shoulder lightly.  
  
"It'll be okay, Hikari. We'll find him, I promise," he assured her. A small beeping caught his attention. He checked the clock on his D-3.   
  
"Well, it's time to report back to Primary Village. Let's get Tailmon and go," he said. She nodded. They climbed on Pegasumon and flew off.  
  
* * *  
  
By the time Hikari, Takeru, Pegasumon, and Tailmon got to Primary Village, the others were all waiting for them. They sat in a circle around a printed version of Koushiro's map of the Digital World. Hikari took out a red pen and they began crossing off the parts of their designated areas that they had already searched. Wormmon seemed to get more depressed and Daisuke seemed to get more determined with every section they crossed out.  
  
"Where are you, Ken-chan?!" Wormmon cried. Hikari smiled faintly at him.  
  
"Don't worry. We'll find Ken soon," she assured him.  
  
"I have to admit, it is a little discouraging that we haven't found a trace of any of him, Arkenimon, or Mummymon, and we've searched so much," Iori stated. Daisuke stood, determined.  
  
"Well, that means there's less area for us to search now. C'mon, let's get back to work!" he said, anxious to be off. The others agreed and stood, ready to split up again.  
  
"If you're going to go off again maybe I should have spared the trouble of coming all the way out here," came a sickeningly familiar voice from behind them. The group spun around to find...  
  
"You," Daisuke hissed.  
  
"Me," Arkenimon replied with a smile. She was standing on top of one of the oversized blocks that made up Primary Village. Daisuke's eyes narrowed in anger.  
  
"What did you do with Ken?" he asked, rage apparent in his voice.   
  
"That little brat? Well, I do believe that's my personal affair," she said haughtily.  
  
"Tell us where Ken is now or we'll force you to," Takeru growled, D-3 ready. Arkenimon flicked her hair casually.  
  
"Do what you like. Attack me, and you'll never see Ken alive again. Of course, he may die anyway from what we did to him earlier." Daisuke was positively shaking with rage.  
  
"What did you do to him?!" he demanded. Arkenimon smirked wickedly, daring him to guess. Daisuke clenched his fists.  
  
"How DARE you!" he yelled, starting forward. It took Yamato, Miyako, and Takeru to hold him back, and he struggled madly against their hold.  
  
"Arkenimon you're never going to get away with this! Let me go!" Daisuke yelled.  
  
"Daisuke, there's nothing you can do right now. I know it's hard, but you can't fight her," Yamato told him, tightening his hold on Daisuke's arm.  
  
"Don't worry, Daisuke. We can make her pay when we rescue Ken," Takeru said. Arkenimon laughed.  
  
"Stupid boy. You're never going to see Ken again...at least, not as your friend. I'm going to make sure his mind and soul are twisted beyond any recognition. Content yourselves with that thought and this," she said before throwing something to Hikari. She jumped down from the block and ran out of sight, Daisuke yelling after her.  
  
"Arkenimon get back here right now and tell us where Ken is!! ARKENIMON!!!"  
  
* * *  
  
The Chosen Children once again sat in the computer lab, staring at the object that had been thrown to Hikari. It was a cassette tape. After calming Daisuke down, they had left the Digital World to bring it to Koushiro. He was studying it carefully.  
  
"It just looks like an ordinary tape. I can't find any possible traps on it," he said after looking it over.  
  
"What if it contains subliminal messages?" Iori asked. Koushiro shrugged.  
  
"Those don't affect the brain as much as most people think. Even if it did, we could keep a careful watch on each other to make sure we don't do anything drastic," he replied.  
  
"I think we should play it. It might help us find Ken, and I'm willing to try anything right now," Hikari said. The others nodded and Koushiro popped the tape into a cassette player. He hit play and the tape began playing.   
  
A tiny gasp was the first sound they heard. Then came a voice, a small whisper. The voice was filled with so much pain that tears came to Wormmon's eyes upon hearing it. Everyone recognized the person speaking.  
  
"Help me...please..." It was Ken. There was a brief pause in the tape, as if he were getting a response from someone.  
  
"I-Iori...no..." Iori turned his head away, tears shining in his eyes.  
  
"Please...don't...leave...me..." Ken was pleading for them to help him. There was another pause.  
  
"M-Miyako...why..." Miyako covered her face with her hands.  
  
"T-Takeru...help me...p-please..." Small sobs could be heard from the tape. Takeru removed his hat and clenched it in his fist, his hand shaking. There was a long pause.   
  
"H-Hikari...p-please...come...back..." Hikari let out a small cry and buried her face in Takeru's shoulder.  
  
"D-Daisuke...please...Please...d-don't...leave...me alone...I-I...need...you to...help me...p-please..." The crying was getting louder, Ken's words and sobbing choking and painful. Daisuke stood there, unmoving.  
  
"Wormmon...no...please...no!" Tears poured from Wormmon's eyes as Ken desperately cried out to his partner, sobbing.  
  
"Wormmon...please...come...back...Wormmon...Wormmon...WORMMON!!!" Ken's screams faded out, only to be replaced by long, cruel laughter. The tape shut off and Koushiro turned to the other horrified and sorrowful Chosen Children.  
  
BAM!  
  
Everyone jumped and turned to see what had made the noise. It was Daisuke. He had punched the wall hard enough to dent it faintly. He sank to the floor wordlessly, holding his bruised and slightly bleeding knuckles. Miyako ran over to him.  
  
"Daisuke, are you alright?" she cried, taking off her bandana and wrapping it around his hand.  
  
"We're going back," he whispered, his emotions unreadable.  
  
"What?"  
  
"We're going back to the Digital World." The others nodded solemnly.  
  
"Let's go," Takeru said.  
  
"Good luck," Koushiro said. Daisuke stood and held out his D-3.  
  
"Digital Gate open," he murmured. 'Ken, we'll find you and make Arkenimon pay for what she's done.' 


	7. Painful Realizations

Covered In Darkness  
  
By QG  
  
Editors: Aria and Ryze  
  
Chapter Seven: Painful Realizations  
  
Slowly, ever so slowly, I groped my way back to consciousness. The first sensation to greet me upon awakening was pain, an intense throbbing coursing throughout my body. I whimpered in agony as I forced my eyes to open. Everything seemed meshed together in a blur of indistinct shapes and colors, but the light was so dim that it wasn't painful to my eyes. I half-closed them and waited for them to focus and adjust.  
  
It took some time, but the cell gradually came into focus. I was lying face down on the floor, which was cold, hard, and unrelenting to my aching body. The whip and chains had been removed from the cell, which I was thankful for. It was still too dark for me to see anything clearly. Suddenly, I felt an icy cold breath of wind, from what source I didn't know, and shivered. I realized that my shirt had been removed, but my torso had bandages wound around it. I heard clicking across the stone floor and instantly tensed. Someone else was in the room with me.   
  
I shut my eyes in preparation for a blow from Arkenimon and was surprised when I felt someone press something smooth against my lips instead. I opened my eyes a little and saw a cup being held to my mouth. A voice spoke.  
  
"Drink it. It isn't poison, just water." It was true that I hadn't had anything to eat or drink since I had been kidnapped and I didn't even know how much time had passed since then. I lifted my head up slightly and opened my mouth, allowing the cup to be tipped and the cold water to flow down my throat, numbing the rawness that was a result of screaming. Never had anything felt so soothing to me.  
  
I finished drinking and the cup was removed and set aside. I stared up at whoever had given me the water and gasped in shock. The small green body and deep blue eyes were impossible to mistake. It was Wormmon.  
  
All of my pain was momentarily forgotten as relief and joy washed over me. I could feel my extinguished hopes begin to rekindle as Wormmon examined the bandages around my back. My Digimon had come to help me! Arkenimon was wrong; I was cared about! I felt joyful tears fall freely from my eyes. I shakily reached an arm around my Digimon and gently pulled him into a hug. I was so happy that I didn't know whether to smile or cry.  
  
"Wormmon, I- thank you..." I whispered, at a loss for words as I held him close. I felt him wriggle a little bit.  
  
"Ken," he said, warningly. I loosened my hold enough for him to shift around and face me. His eyes were cold.  
  
"What is it, Wormmon?" I asked, confused. He had never called me anything but 'Ken-chan' since his rebirth, and the lack of affection in his voice kindled new worry in me.  
  
"Let go of me," he replied icily. Bewildered, and trying to fight a growing fear that was beginning to spark in me, I released him. He hopped out of my arms and crawled away from me.   
  
"Wormmon...I...what's the matter?" I asked, fear building in strength. He turned around to glare at me.  
  
"What's the matter? You abuse me my entire life, cause me unbearable amounts of suffering, and don't care at all what happens to me, and you have the nerve to ask 'what's the matter'?" he yelled at me. My eyes widened.  
  
"W-what? Wormmon, I-I'm so sorry about what I did to you and you know I've been trying to make up for it. Of course I care what happens to you...It-it almost killed me when you died..." I exclaimed, my voice faltering at the end. Wormmon's glower was still there, and seemed to intensify.  
  
"What made you think I wanted any of it? That I actually wanted to be your friend? You're a pathetic excuse for a partner. The only thing you've ever brought me is suffering. Just think of your bandages as the last thing I ever do for you." New tears began falling from my eyes, only these were different. These were painful, sorrowful.  
  
"W-Wormmon...I-I'm sorry..." I whispered. That was all I could say. After I had gotten Wormmon back, I couldn't tell him anything but apologies. I had been trying so hard to make it up to him, to become everything he ever wanted in a partner.  
  
Wormmon merely discarded my apology and began stalking off, heading towards the door. I tried to push myself up, to reach him, but my muscles were so weak that I couldn't support my own weight. I held a hand out to his retreating form.  
  
"W-Wormmon, p-please don't leave me!" I called out to him. It was happening again. It was all happening again. He glanced over his shoulder to glare at me contemptuously.  
  
"What makes you think I could stand to be in your presence another minute? You're a spoiled brat who cares only about himself. You were worthless when I first met you and you'll be worthless until you die. I can't believe I spent my life protecting you because, frankly, it wouldn't be a loss to anyone if you died," he spat. His words hurt, more than anything Arkenimon had done to me with the whip, and I felt my slowly reconstructed hopes shatter. I had never heard Wormmon utter one word against me, not even when I was the Kaiser. But if that was what he truly felt about me...then I really was alone.  
  
A cry was wrenched from my throat, like that of a wounded animal, before I fell into my arms, sobbing.  
  
* * *  
  
I lay there for a long time, crying until my eyes felt raw. I hurt so much. Without any hope inside of me the pain from my wounds found me again and burned all over my body. I couldn't move without something hurting. The pain was so much that I felt like giving up and succumbing to it.  
  
However, it wasn't nearly as horrible as the pain in my heart. Wormmon's revelations had hurt me more than anything I had ever felt before. The thought of my best friend hating me like he said he did felt like he had brutally ripped out my heart. I had always depended on him to help me through the difficult times in my life, thought he would be there to protect and reassure me. I knew I was being selfish, but I needed him to help me through life. If he wasn't there, then I...  
  
Suddenly, my thoughts were interrupted by the large door being heaved open. I whipped my tear-stained face around to see who was coming in. A very small part of me believed it to be the Chosen Children, who would come in and envelop me in their friendship and love. I would be safe and cared for. This hope was soon crushed as Arkenimon entered the room, carrying a small candle. I stiffened in fear as she walked over to me, the candle illuminating her sadistic smirk.  
  
"It's good to see that you're awake," she said, an indecipherable tone in her voice. She cocked her head slightly as she gazed into my face.  
  
"Have you been crying?" she asked. Her voice sounded almost gentle, but I wasn't so desperate as to trust her and looked away. She crouched down to stroke the back of my head in a gesture that was tender until she clenched a fist around my hair and pulled back sharply. My head was yanked up, forcing me to look into her face. She looked, enraged, at me, her eyes narrowed dangerously.  
  
"You will look at me when I talk to you," she hissed. I tried to struggle out of her grasp but her grip on my hair was strong and painful, and I had to grit my teeth to keep from crying out as it tightened. She pulled my face inches apart from hers.  
  
"Well? Do you understand?" she asked menacingly. I averted my eyes, staying mute. This only seemed to infuriate her further.  
  
"Answer me, you little brat!" she yelled. When I still didn't say anything, Arkenimon stood, pulling me up slightly, drew back, and slapped me. It whipped my head to the side and I inadvertently cried out in pain. She released my hair and let me fall back hard onto the floor, holding my cheek. She put a hand on her hip as she looked down at me.  
  
"You know, you didn't use be this resistant. I think my hold over you may be weakening," she commented. My eyes widened.  
  
"W-weakening? But...you aren't controlling me..." I murmured. She smiled cruelly.  
  
"Oh, is that what you think? That I lost my hold over you the second your Kaiser costume disappeared?" My mind was foggy with confusion. What was she talking about? She had lost her control of me once I stopped being the Kaiser. All of my decisions were my own to make. I wasn't controlled by anyone.  
  
"What do you mean?" I whispered. Arkenimon laughed wickedly.  
  
"You idiot. Did you think that I would lose my power that easily? I had been controlling you for years. Did you honestly believe I gave up when your pathetic bug died?" she asked. But she had! Hadn't she...?  
  
"But you lost your control. I made my own decisions!" I exclaimed, my head swimming with puzzlement.  
  
"You're more gullible than I thought. We've been controlling you all this time. Nothing you've done has been you; you're just a puppet for me to play with as I choose." No...no!! I wasn't a puppet! My life wasn't something she could play around with! What about my friends?  
  
"But I joined up with the other Chosen Children! I-I helped them fight against you!" Arkenimon smiled viciously.  
  
"What makes you think that wasn't part of our plan?" I gasped. My body began trembling in fear and confusion. My hands reached up to cover my ears. I had to block it out, block all of it out. I shut my eyes tightly.  
  
"No...it isn't...you're wrong...you're lying...no...NO!!!" I cried, tears coursing down my face. I couldn't stop shaking. I wasn't being controlled...wasn't being used for her own purposes. I was no one's pawn!  
  
I felt a hand upon my cheek, lifting my face up. Arkenimon smiled down at me.  
  
"I'm going to leave you now, my little puppet. Maybe you'll be easier to break when you've had time to think. Oh, and I almost forgot. I can't have you in the dark this whole time." She reached over on one of the walls and took something down, an unlit torch. She held the blazing flame of her candle to the top of the torch and it caught on the dry straw. The bright orange flame was just enough to illuminate the stone walls.  
  
I screamed. 


	8. Protection

Covered In Darkness  
  
By QG  
  
Editors: Aria and Keyanna  
  
Chapter Eight: Protection  
  
The night was peaceful and quiet. Everyone was already asleep, long done with the evening's activities and at peace in their safe slumber. Everyone except for one small, green insect, who lay fully awake and unable to sleep. It was well past midnight, and he knew that he should be asleep, but he just couldn't. How could he possibly sleep when the person he cared about most in the world was in danger somewhere, without him there for protection?  
  
"Oh, Ken-chan..." the caterpillar whispered into the inky blackness of the night. Silently, he slid off of the bed where the cinnamon-haired leader of the Chosen Children slept, snoring loudly, with his partner Digimon loosely tucked under one arm. The insect crawled across the floor, careful to avoid the many food wrappers and piles of junk that littered it. He maneuvered his way up to the windowsill, where he put a foreleg to the slightly frosted glass, and stared out into the night at the lightly falling snow.  
  
Wormmon wasn't sure what had compelled him to stay at Daisuke's house. It wasn't in case Ken's parents heard him moving around in his partner's room and found out about the Digital World; no...it was deeper than that. Was it out of loneliness, perhaps? Ever since Ken's epiphany, Wormmon had never spent the night without his partner next to him, and maybe having Ken's Jogress partner with him helped fill the emptiness inside that grew without having Ken around.  
  
All the little insect knew was that he couldn't bear to be in Ken's home. He couldn't sleep, alone, in the cold bed, in that dark room filled with nothingness. He couldn't bear hearing the muffled sobs of Ken's parents echoing in the achingly empty apartment. He couldn't stand waking up with nightmares in the night, only to realize that Ken wasn't there to reassure him.   
  
Wormmon sighed raggedly. It had already been two days since Ken's kidnapping. Even though Daisuke assured him that they would find Ken soon, the future had looked bleak. Arkenimon's tape recording had only made him more frantic. Who knew what she was doing to his partner, what horrors she was putting him through? Daisuke and the others took it as fuel for their anger towards the powers of darkness, but it only made Wormmon worry. Of course, he was enraged at Arkenimon and what she was doing to his friend, but it also worried him sick. It meant Ken was alive, but for how long? He sounded like he was losing hope very quickly. How could he possibly be expected to keep up hope when he was being tortured?   
  
Tears came to Wormmon's eyes as he leaned his head against the windowpane. Ken's voice still echoed in his mind, every frightened word, every choking sob. He wanted to break into wherever Ken was being held prisoner, burrow close to the tormented, terrified child and protect him from anything that tried to harm him. His friend had been hurt so much, had seen his own life shatter like glass before him. Wormmon wanted to help him get his life back together, to stop Ken's tears from falling. He couldn't let anyone hurt Ken any more. His friend's life was not something people could just play around with. Seeing each crystalline tear that fell from Ken's eyes only made Wormmon want to protect him more.  
  
However, the more he thought about protecting Ken, the more he just wanted to laugh bitterly at himself. Some protector he had been. Standing there while his friend was being taken, was being hurt, by darkness again. Not doing anything to help the poor boy as he was kidnapped. Not even being able to shinka and help find him. Just remaining weak and helpless. The Kaiser was right; he was useless. Ken may have been cruel back then, but at least he was completely honest. Oh, Wormmon didn't think that Ken was lying to him now; he just couldn't see what Wormmon really was. A useless, weak bug.   
  
'Ken-chan doesn't deserve someone as pathetic as me. I can't even protect him. It's my fault he was captured. If only I were stronger...then he wouldn't have to suffer because of my mistakes,' he thought angrily. The worst part was that Ken didn't blame Wormmon for any of it. He took all of the blame upon himself, let himself be hurt for his partner's sake.   
  
The tears that had gathered in Wormmon's eyes fell, and he began sobbing softly. Why did Ken do all of that for him? He didn't deserve any of it; he didn't deserve anyone as kind and self-sacrificing as Ken was.   
  
A noise from Daisuke's bed tore Wormmon from his thoughts. A small form appeared from out of the folds of blankets and yawned sleepily. Wormmon hurriedly dried his eyes.  
  
"Wormmon? Are you okay?" Chibimon's tiny voice spoke in the silence of the room.  
  
"I-I'm fine, Chibimon. I'm sorry I woke you," Wormmon quickly apologized, a habit he still hadn't broken from Ken's Kaiser days. The blue Digimon hopped off of the bed and onto the windowsill to join his Jogress partner.  
  
"It's okay," he replied. After a moment of quiet, he added, "Couldn't sleep?"  
  
Wormmon shook his head. Chibimon smiled slightly and patted his friend on the back.  
  
"Don't worry. We'll find Ken soon," he assured the caterpillar. Wormmon looked out the window, not focusing on anything outside.  
  
"Chibimon, I have a question for you." The blue Digimon looked a little puzzled.  
  
"What is it?" Wormmon took a deep breath, as if looking for the right words to express his feelings.  
  
"Have...have you ever seen Daisuke in pain?" he asked. Chibimon looked slightly taken aback, but then nodded solemnly.  
  
"It tears me up inside every time." Wormmon turned an understanding gaze back to his friend.  
  
"Has Daisuke ever...ever gotten hurt because of something you did? Or to protect you?" he inquired further. Chibimon thought for a minute, completely serious instead of his usual mirror image of his partner's carefree manner.  
  
"Yes," came his short reply. Wormmon carefully picked his wording, so as to not upset the smaller Digimon.  
  
"What...what did it feel like inside?"  
  
"It felt...it felt like something wonderful mixed with something horrible. I was so happy that Daisuke cared so much about me, but I felt so awful and scared that he was getting hurt. I felt like...like I had to protect him and prove to him that I was supposed to be the strong one, that I was supposed to feel the pain for him. So that's what I try to do every day of my life. Protect Daisuke, even if it means getting hurt myself." Chibimon looked over at the sleeping boy in a loving, possessive way. After a minute, he turned back to Wormmon.   
  
"Why d'you want to know?"  
  
"Oh, it's...it's nothing. Thank you, Chibimon. You can go back to sleep now; I'll come in a minute," he replied. The blue Digimon nodded and stumbled sleepily back to the bed but, before he snuggled down once more with his partner, he said, "Wormmon, we're going to find Ken."  
  
Wormmon took the words of comfort. However, Chibimon had already consoled him enough. He knew what he had to do for Ken. He turned back to the window and spoke into the vast night, almost hoping Ken could hear his words.  
  
"Ken-chan, you've already had enough suffering. Now it's my turn. It's my turn to be hurt for you, to take all of your pain from you. I'm going to come and protect you, even if it means sacrificing myself again. You're not going to feel any more pain. I will rescue you, Ken-chan. I will rescue you and make sure you're never hurt again." 


	9. Premontion

Covered In Darkness  
  
By QG  
  
Editor: Keyanna  
  
Chapter Nine: Premonition  
  
Darkness. Whirling darkness was engulfing me, covering me in a blanket of midnight threads. It surrounded me in all directions, like a fabric or a liquid, twisting and twirling fluidly around my body. It felt cool, not cold, but not warm either, and seemed more like water than anything else. The darkness covered me, much like a shroud, and felt protective against my skin. I couldn't feel any fear.  
  
There was a sudden scratched feeling in my throat. It hurt. Why? I strained to remember what had happened before the darkness. Fractions of my memory filtered through my mind. I recalled screaming in utter, pure terror at...something that had been revealed...screaming until my voice grew weak and my throat raw...screaming at what?  
  
"The walls," a voice somewhere in the depths of my mind replied. Walls? Suddenly, a flash of memory echoed through my mind. Pain...fear...anguish...the walls. Oh God, the walls...They were...fragments, shattered remnants of what they had been, but they still carried that horrid black power reverberating through them. Black, generated from the darkest obsidian, but not nearly as dark as the heart that had created them.  
  
The emotions and senses continued resurfacing from the recesses of my mind. Screaming...fear...pain...screaming...darkness. Darkness as black as pitch...so dark...then, here. There was protection, safety here. The darkness wasn't as cold, wasn't as binding. More like a blanket, a soft covering.  
  
Tentatively, I reached out with my hand. It had been gripping my upper body, along with the other, and I had curled up my body, my knees to my chest. When I held out my hand, I was half surprised to see it; my grasp on concrete images had long faded, though how long ago it had been I was uncertain of. Everything felt fuzzy and jumbled inside my head. Memories and sensations had gaping holes in them, trying to piece themselves together into conscious thoughts. The more I tried to make sense of it, the more my head throbbed, so I stopped thinking about it altogether.  
  
Reaching forward, I passed my hand through the surrounding swirls of darkness, watching with a bewildered curiosity as the black threads slid smoothly across my fingers, the texture like a velvety liquid against my skin. Fascinated, I did it again, gazing at the soft, dark threads.  
  
Very quietly at first, but steadily growing louder, I began to hear sounds. Soft voices, like whispers, silkily played over my ears. The voices, as quiet as the padding of a cat's feet, surrounded me, calling to me from all directions. They spoke to me of urgings, of orders, of temptations.  
  
"Rest, little one."  
  
"You needn't be frightened of us."  
  
"We will not hurt you."  
  
"Uncurl yourself. Allow your body and mind to drift."  
  
"Wh-who are you? What is it you want?" I asked, my voice cracking from the pain in my throat and echoing in the black abyss. The lulling, hissing whispers continued.  
  
"Do not hide from us, little one. Lower your defenses."  
  
"Give yourself to the darkness."  
  
"Embrace it."  
  
"You will feel no pain; we shall help you."  
  
My mind felt clouded by their confusing statements. They both made sense and didn't at the same time. However, the prospect of rest was inviting; both my mind and body were exhausted. I continued to listen to the voices' promises, letting the ideas and temptations weave into my mind. As I began believing their promises, I felt my defenses weaken.  
  
"Good, good."  
  
"Just allow us to pass into your mind."  
  
"No more pain; no more hurt."  
  
"Only darkness."  
  
I felt tired, like some unseen force was slowly draining me of energy. It was getting difficult to resist what the voices had to offer. As my resistance was being worn down and the energy in my body was depleting, I was slipping down into the darkness. Deeper and deeper I fell, and as I did so, the whisperings began to take on forms. Small wisps at first, but gradually they got bigger, until they formed many long, black tendrils, different from the surrounding darkness only by a deep purple sheen.  
  
"That's it, little one."  
  
"Give in to us."  
  
"You will not be vulnerable; we will be with you."  
  
"You will not feel any pain. Just darkness."  
  
The feelings of exhaustion outweighed all reason in my mind, and I stopped fighting the voices. I relaxed, letting my overly tense body loosen and slowly uncurl.  
  
As I unfolded into an almost standing position, I was suddenly floating above a pool of black and indigo water, which I deduced as such from the ripples forming on the surface. My bare feet were hovering mere centimeters above the dark water. I blinked as I stared at the pool, its mirror-like surface interrupted only by the small ripples.  
  
"What is...?"  
  
"Touch it; it will not harm you."  
  
"You will truly be at peace."  
  
"No more pain."  
  
"Merely touch the water."  
  
Cautiously, still slightly wary of the voices, I stretched my leg until my foot touched the surface of the dark water.  
  
It was cold. Not the protective, cool sensation that had been surrounding me, but a horrible iciness in its place. The comfort I had been experiencing was torn away by an icy wind, the air turning frigid. I instantly recoiled, hugging myself tightly, trying to retain some warmth in my body; I couldn't stop shaking. The voices came again.  
  
"Why do you oppose us, little one?"  
  
"You are resisting what we have given you."  
  
"I-I...it's so...cold," I stuttered, disturbed and frightened by the amount of vehemence and anger the voices held. Why would they be so angry? Unless...unless they weren't going to help me, and instead cause me more pain, more suffering. No. No more pain. I didn't want more pain.  
  
The more I thought, the more my suspicion built. I could feel how outraged the voices became, how full of anger and spite they were at my resistance. I was winning, beating back their web of lies.  
  
"You are resisting us."  
  
"Why do you do such futile things?"  
  
The long, black, snake-like forms of the voices shot out at me and coiled around my arms, legs, waist, neck. They wrapped and squeezed tightly around me, holding me still and vulnerable. A whimper came from my aching throat, very tiny and frightened. Cold, cold, so cold. Cold and dark. The darkness, blacker than before, was clawing around me, covering me in a midnight shroud so different from before. Not kind and welcome. The grip on my body was powerful and painful. I didn't want this. I wanted to escape it, but I couldn't, I couldn't.  
  
My eyes widened in fear as something began rising out of the pool of water, many liquid-like black tendrils splashing and rising up to compound into a single wavering form. It was humanoid, though pure black and not completely solid. It lashed out and gripped my arms, its hands solidifying to keep a powerful hold on me. Its touch to my bare skin was so cold, felt so evil. Upon contact, I began fiercely struggling, trying desperately to break free. The voices spoke angrily.  
  
"We shall not let you go, little one."  
  
"Escape is impossible."  
  
"You will remain here."  
  
"Immersed in darkness."  
  
I continued thrashing. I had to escape. The darkness had lured me into its trap with false promises and I, like a fool, had believed it. Now that I was in its clutches, it had no intention of letting me go.  
  
As I fought against my bindings, more inky black threads twined themselves around my body, tightly gripping me. I continued to struggle, until I felt a sharp pain in my skull, like a sudden electric shock. I cried out weakly in pain.  
  
"Do not make us hurt you."  
  
"Just give in."  
  
"You cannot win."  
  
"Become one with the darkness."  
  
"No! Let go of me!"  
  
Again, the pain shot through me, though this time with more intensity. I heard an audible growl of frustration and anger from the thing holding my arms and, suddenly, a new wave of pain crashed over my body. Small threads of darkness had risen out of the water and sliced into me like tiny blades.  
  
Lacerations covering my body, I tried to scream, but felt my voice violently ripped from my throat. I could only open my mouth in a silent cry of agony as blood, hot and red, trickled down my skin.  
  
"It will do you no good to oppose me, little one." The voice, commanding, frightening, and disturbingly familiar, came from the thing of darkness gripping my arms. I tried to break its vice-like hold, desperation rushing through me.  
  
"Struggle is useless. I will kill all trace of what is, and replace it with what lurks."  
  
It was cold, so cold. It hurt, everything hurt so much.  
  
"You will be alone, trapped, caged, and useless. You cannot resist me forever."  
  
The tendril encircling my neck tightened, cutting off all the air to my lungs. Couldn't breathe...couldn't breathe...so dark...cold...hurt so much...stop...make it all stop...couldn't breathe...pain...cold...dark.  
  
"You will be covered in darkness." 


	10. Voices

Covered In Darkness  
  
By QG  
  
Editor: Keyanna  
  
Chapter Ten: Voices  
  
"It's surprising, isn't it?"  
  
"Hn?"  
  
"How stupid children are. They're like glass, so easily shattered. All you have to do is say the right words or twist the correct thoughts, and they'll break so easily." A smirk graced the speaker's face.  
  
"You're right, as always, sweet." A face of disgust was made, but it passed quickly; a contemplative look took its place.  
  
"He's relaxed."  
  
"Hn." The aforementioned boy they were monitoring had been writhing on the floor of his dark cell, screaming while clutching his head, as if in pain. At the time, his desperate cries had diminished into pained whimpers as he lay, curled in a fetal position.  
  
"Do you think his nightmare's over with?"  
  
"Either that, or he's given in to it." A pause.  
  
"No...it's still too early for him to give in. We have to work with him a bit more. It won't be for much longer now, though. He's close..." A sigh of frustration came from the other being.  
  
"It's been three days already. Hasn't he relented yet?" The other smirked.  
  
"Be patient. We have to do this carefully. He still has a spark of resistance in him. It needs to be extinguished completely. I can't have my loyal puppet running around doing as he pleases, can I? He needs to learn some respect...disobedient little wretch..." A laugh from the opposite figure echoed in the frigid darkness.  
  
"But, dear, I'm surprised your methods are working this well so far. I would have thought he'd be smarter than to fall for any tricks."  
  
"Never underestimate the naïveté of youth. The cell had some part in it too, of course."  
  
"Ah yes." A pause, as the creature took in his surroundings. "I'm impressed with the reconstruction of this whole thing, really. It was stupid of them to leave the pieces just lying around."  
  
"What surprises me is that you could restore the monitors to this condition. Personally, though, I'm most pleased with how the cell came out." A chuckle of realization echoed.  
  
"Now I know why we went to all that trouble gathering the shards. But who would have thought a cell made entirely out of pieces of dark towers would have such an influence?"  
  
"Even as fragments, they still have that wonderful black energy seeping through them, it's just harder to release. However, all of those frightened, doubtful thoughts I've been triggering in his mind were just the thing they needed to begin twisting his thoughts on a deeper level than we could." Another pause occurred as the two relished in their own near success.  
  
"Did you expect the Wormmon to affect him as much as it did?"  
  
"I don't do anything unless I think it's going to have an effect. He was too emotionally drained to realize it was a fake. Now will you trust me when I tell you I want to use the towers to create weak Digimon?" A half sigh came from the other.  
  
"Alright, dearest, I'll trust you. Oh, here. We're getting an energy reading." A monitor flashed a bright blue in the pitch black and a small beep resounded in the nearly empty room.  
  
"What does it say?" The voice was curious, but held in it an anticipatory delight derived from others' pain.  
  
"It's still not enough. The manifestation isn't ready yet. If we have a little more time; just one more twist will push him over the edge."  
  
"Damnit. We don't *have* that much time. *They* keep getting closer. The only thing I can think to do is..." She dwelt for a moment in thought. "I'll do that. I'm sure it'll trigger a reaction strong enough."  
  
"Even more than your lies?"  
  
"Oh, there will be lies. He's too gullible not to believe them. If this works, he'll be so crushed that he'll be engulfed for sure. Then our little manifestation is sure to happen." Another monitor flashed.  
  
"It's them." A sigh.  
  
"When are they going to give up? It's not like he's worth it." Another sigh. "I wish they'd just get themselves killed and be done with it. They're really annoying me."  
  
"I doubt they'd give up even if they were killed."  
  
"You're an idiot." A sheepish grin formed on the other's face, before it turned to a more serious look.  
  
"Do you want me to be prepared for an attack?" A shrug. One figure stood and strutted to the doorway, her shoes clicking with definition as she walked.  
  
"It never hurts. It's not like they'll find the base, but if it makes you feel safer, then it's fine." A pause in which she contemplated the situation carefully. "It's going to be so nice to have a willing pawn again, don't you think? He can't hold out much longer; time is running out for their pathetic little friend. I can feel it. Ken will be ours. It won't be long now, not long at all." 


	11. Darkness Approach

Covered In Darkness  
  
By QG  
  
Editor: Keyanna  
  
Chapter Eleven: Darkness Approach  
  
They were close. Daisuke could feel it. He knew it. They were narrowing down the possibilities every hour they searched. The map of the Digital World they carried was full of red "x" marks, showing the amount of land they had covered in their search. They were so close, he could almost taste it. So why didn't he feel good about it? They were going to find Ken, weren't they? He was supposed to be happy, or anxious, or agitated to find his friend.  
  
But he wasn't. He wasn't experiencing any of those emotions, only a sick, gnawing feeling deep in the pit of his stomach. Yes, they might be finding Ken, but would he even be alive when they did? And if he were, who or what would they find? What if he had been consumed by darkness, because they couldn't get to him quickly enough? What if they had failed him through their own doubts and incompetence? What then? Would he even recognize them? What if Arkenimon had him attack?  
  
Daisuke had promised himself not to fight Ken again. He didn't want to know what the pain he would cause would do to Ken. Even if the boy had surrendered to darkness and went so far as to draw blood, to hurt him, to kill him, Daisuke would refuse to fight. He would let himself be killed, sacrifice himself. It would be better than the alternative. Any harm he could do to Ken, even if it were intended to help him later, would be worse, so much more damaging, than anything Arkenimon could do to him. That was because of friendship. The pain derived from an enemy could heal, and there would be no animosity that wasn't there before. But if pain inflicted upon someone is caused by a friend, a trusted person, that...that creates wounds that are so deep, so incurable.  
  
Daisuke had become Ken's friend, as had the rest of the Chosen Children. Ken had bonded with each of them in his own way, and they all, on some level, cared for him deeply. But Daisuke had felt something that he knew the others hadn't. When Stingmon and XV-mon had first jogressed, their entities had joined into one being. The Digimon's human partners had had a similar experience, bonding in essence and mind rather than body. Daisuke had felt Ken's heart beating in his own chest. They had shared a mind, shared their innermost thoughts and feelings with one another. That had exposed the fear and hurt hidden deep inside of Ken to Daisuke. He had felt everything that plagued Ken, learned of his pain and inner torment. After discovering all this, Daisuke swore he would never hurt Ken again. He could never bring himself to harm someone who had already suffered through so much pain.  
  
* * *  
  
With a groan, I dragged myself up from the dregs of unconsciousness, slowly sliding my eyelids open. I blinked, my clouded vision clearing to reveal the cracked ebony of the cell. I shut my eyes again, softly breathing a sigh. Relief, in its smallest form, spread through me. It was a dream. It had just been a horrid dream. I hadn't been forced to obey the darkness, to become a captive to its midnight chains...yet. Even though I was not imprisoned by it, there was still the threat, and it loomed over me like a dark cloud, hovering, waiting.  
  
My attention was drawn as the biting pain of the wounds in my back throbbed, my senses sharpening as I awoke. My body ached. The deprivation of food was like a parasite, eating away at my insides. I didn't know how long I had gone without food or if my body had begun to deteriorate; time had lost all relevance by then. The whip slashes, even bandaged, stung when I moved the slightest. I didn't want to move, didn't want to be awake to feel the pain. I just wanted it to stop.  
  
I shivered. It was cold, not the cold I had experienced in my nightmare, but a still, chilling frostiness that hung in the air. My shuddering breath came out in small white puffs, hovering in mid-air for seconds before vanishing. I drew my body in closer, pulling my thin and torn garments tighter against my skin, trying to retain some heat.  
  
My eyes felt dry, aching; I had cried all the tears I could. It was so...frightening. Waiting, lying there cold and alone, not knowing what horror was going to happen to me next, if I were to be killed or broken by darkness. I had never experienced such a raw terror, not even when I had been beaten. I had known what was going to happen, and while I had been afraid of the physical punishment, it was not nearly as awful. The uncertainty of what was to come, the sheer dread at being taken by darkness, at going back to that cold, black prison, was what I was most terrified of. It was wearing me down. The constant fear, the pain, all the horrors repeating in my head, it was exhausting and frightening. My mind and body couldn't cope with any more. I knew I was going to give in soon. I...I just couldn't take it.  
  
A tearless sob escaped my throat. It was so hard, trying to hold on, waiting for friends I didn't even know would come for me. It hurt so much...  
  
* * *  
  
Daisuke was ashamed of his other reason for feeling the way he did about finding Ken. He didn't want to. He was so afraid of what they would discover upon finding their friend. He didn't want to see it, didn't want to see how the two wicked Digimon had tortured his friend. If he didn't see Ken, if he didn't have to witness Ken's pain, it wouldn't have to be real. He could pretend that Ken was fine, at home with his parents. Safe. Protected. Not hurt and vulnerable, struggling to withstand the darkness that was threatening to consume him. That was what he feared; to see Ken hurt again would be to admit to his failure to protect his friend.  
  
Never again did Daisuke want to see him like that. He could recall all too clearly Ken after his defeat as the Kaiser. Ken, lying on the ground, sobbing brokenly after his heart was ripped to shreds by Wormmon's death. Daisuke never wanted to have Ken experience pain that great again. His friend didn't deserve it, didn't deserve any of it. He had already repented for what he had done. He didn't need any more pain.  
  
* * *  
  
A noise broke my sorrowful reverie. The large door was being unbolted. My eyes alone followed its actions as it opened and allowed someone into the cell, but I made no further attempt to move. I knew it was Arkenimon without even straining to see the details of her face or outfit; she was the only one left to come to me. My hopes of rescue were feeble at best. All I had to keep the darkness at bay were the horrible memories of what I, the Kaiser, had done, and my obstinate will to prevent it from ever happening again.  
  
I shut my eyes. Maybe if I lay perfectly still, she would think I were asleep or even dead, and wouldn't torment me any longer. That would be so wonderful, not having to worry about anything, to simply be nothing in a painless, empty void of-  
  
A sharp kick to my side cut into my thoughts. I moaned as my pain doubled, Arkenimon's booted foot feeling like a sledgehammer slamming into my ribs.  
  
"It's time to wake up, Kaiser."  
  
* * *  
  
When they had first jogressed, Daisuke had felt Ken's presence inside of him. Ken was so lost at the time, had all but given up hope. He was prepared to run straight into certain death, but Daisuke's words had held him back. Ken's presence felt so...frightened. He didn't know what was to become of him, as though he were using the risk of death as a desperate cry for help. Ken needed to be protected, cared for, and kept shielded from pain and sorrow. From that point onward, Daisuke wanted, needed, to protect Ken. To have him ripped away, to be hurt once more...that felt horrible on a level Daisuke didn't even know existed.  
  
He knew the others felt the same way. They had become a team, through their success and hardships. Even if they didn't show it, every member of the group cared deeply for Ken. He had bonded with each in his own way, and Daisuke knew they felt the need to protect him as strongly as he did. He wasn't sure how he knew this, but it was a deep-rooted belief that came solely from his heart. None of them were going to give up Ken without a fight. He could only hope, pray, that they would find him before it was too late.  
  
* * *  
  
I gazed wearily up at Arkenimon, the pain of my bruising side reflecting in my eyes, as she stood, glowering down at me, hatred pouring from her sunglasses-covered eyes. How much longer would my torment last? It was so hard, trying to hold on, to resist the temptation to simply give up and surrender to darkness. But to surrender would be giving them what they wanted. I just wished the pain would end.  
  
"Thinking of giving up already? I'm surprised, Kaiser. I thought you were more resilient than that." My eyes narrowed in a flinch.  
  
"Don't...don't call me that..." I whispered. Though my voice was cracking and weak with pain, more pleading present in it than anything else, still I managed to retain the smallest bit of resistance. I wouldn't give her the pleasure of a surrender. When I had one of them with me, it was easier to resist. I wouldn't side with them, let them know they had won over me.  
  
"Why ever not? It's what you are. A tainted, corrupt, conceited, hateful Kaiser, the bringer of pain and suffering. You know it. Deep down inside of you, you know it. You just won't admit that you belong with us," she spoke, each word punctuating like an ice pick being driven into my stomach.  
  
"No...Stop it!" It couldn't...she was lying...  
  
"You know I'm right; you've known all along. You've become so immersed in shadows that you're no longer worthy of things such as this anymore." She held up something I had all but forgotten.  
  
"That's..."  
  
* * *  
  
A warm presence on Daisuke's shoulder, Hikari's hand, broke him out of his unnaturally quiet reverie. He turned to her, their eyes locking, a similar expression of fear and worry passing between them. She gave him a mirthless smile, more for understanding of his and Ken's pain than anything else.  
  
"We'll find him," she whispered. He nodded once, affirming her statement with confidence he tried, but failed, to feel. She, of all present, could relate to the situation the best. She had felt it too, the looming darkness. Times before, she had had to fight it, yet prevailed with the others' love and friendship. Now it was her turn to protect someone threatened by the blackness; she would penetrate Ken's dark shroud with her shining light.  
  
Daisuke looked to his other friends. They had joined up, the older ones staying back to search by computer, while the new generation searched manually as a group. Each one of his friends had found his or her reason to fight for Ken, to help him when he needed them the most.   
  
Wormmon had cried all the tears his little body was capable of creating, and instead a heart-wrenchingly painful look had appeared in his eyes, that being almost worse to watch than his crying. The small Digimon simply couldn't handle the kidnapping of his partner, his bond with Ken affecting him in ways the others couldn't even begin to imagine.  
  
Takeru was searching alongside the caterpillar Digimon. The blond Chosen Child seemed more subdued than his normal cheerful appearance, frightened, even, for Ken's sake. He was trying to keep up his hopes that Ken would be rescued. They had been told recently that his was one of the two crests created for battling the darkness. Ken needed all of the strength he could get to fight against his enemy. Daisuke sent an encouraging, albeit empty, smile to Takeru, trying to keep the hope alive inside his friend.  
  
Miyako and Iori hadn't spoken a word since their last passage into the Digital World. The twisted recording sent to them by Arkenimon had left such an impact upon them. Ken was struggling, desperately trying to beat back the darkness. Alone. He was fighting a battle he would inevitably lose if they couldn't reach him in time. They had already expressed their doubts about Ken's abilities to resist the temptations of darkness, as well as his loyalty to the Chosen Children, but the recording had affected them. Talking, wondering about what Ken was going through was one thing, but hearing his voice, terrified and despairing, was so much different. Ken needed them, needed their help. Daisuke hoped they would be able to offer it.  
  
Suddenly, randomly, an idea hit Daisuke. The moment he had thought it, though, he felt like hitting himself for not thinking of it sooner. He unclipped his D-3 from his belt and turned it to its search mode. Moments later, his yell of achievement startled all of the other Chosen and their Digimon.  
  
"Come here! I think I found him!" Daisuke exclaimed, his voice fast-paced and a mixture of happiness and fear. On the miniature map of the Digital World, a small pinkish light was blinking a ways away from them. That light was attributed to only one thing Daisuke knew of: Ken's...  
  
* * *  
  
"...crest." A tight knot formed in my stomach, its presence sickening. She was holding my crest.  
  
"W-why do you have that?" I whispered, my voice hoarse in terror. Arkenimon smiled, turning the small pink rectangle over and over in her hands.  
  
"Why? Now why ask a question like that? You don't need it anymore, Kaiser. You won't have any use for kindness once you've reverted," she spoke, her words harsh. I strained, desperate to sit up. I needed my crest back; it was my only link to the person I had become. Without it, I...  
  
"Give it back," I half pleaded, half ordered. Her smile widened. She spoke, ignoring my words.  
  
"It represents your kindness, a piece of you that you found once you banished the Kaiser for good. You were wrong, though. He isn't banished. He lurks inside of you." Something in my memory twanged, like a sharp pain, but I was too fixated on Arkenimon's words to remember.  
  
"He's coming for you. He's coming to beat this pathetic, weak Ken into submission, so he can take control again. There's just one thing blocking his way. If that's destroyed, then you'll be easy prey. Can you guess what it is?"   
  
My eyes widened in shock. My crest had been...protecting me? If I still had it, the darkness couldn't take me. I struggled once more to get up, an animal-like instinct beginning to spur inside of me. I desperately had to have my crest, had to hold it in my hand and feel it protect me. Arkenimon saw my frantic need for my crest, and made a pondering noise.  
  
"Oh, you want it, do you? Well, here." She dropped the pink chip to the ground, where it clicked upon landing. It was right there in front of me, calling to me, my salvation, my hope. I summoned all the strength I had left in my body and reached a trembling hand out, making a grab for my crest. I was going to be protected. I could feel the hope rising in me, my fingers inching closer to the physical form of that hope. A moment away from touching it, my forefinger hovering a centimeter away-  
  
My world was split asunder as Arkenimon's heel came smashing down, shattering my crest.  
  
* * *  
  
The pink light on Daisuke's D-3 flashed brightly for an instant, then disappeared altogether. He started in surprise.  
  
"What happened?" Hikari asked, as the others crowded around Daisuke. His face had a look of surprise, his brow furrowed. They all looked to his D-3, but saw only the colors of their own crests and Digimentals, grouped together.  
  
"Daisuke, where's Ken's?" Takeru questioned, a puzzled look on his face. Daisuke pointed to where he had seen the light.  
  
"This doesn't make sense. It was there a moment ago, but then it flashed really brightly and disappeared," he murmured, confusion and worry present in his voice. Iori blinked, thinking.  
  
"If his crest is behaving oddly, that means something is disrupting it somehow. I've never seen our crests give off bursts of energy, except before jogress, and they never disappeared," he mused, speaking his first thoughts since entering the Digital World.  
  
"What if...what if something drastic has happened to him?" Hikari asked, fear carrying in her words. All of the Chosen were frightened now, almost more so than they had been. If there were a fluctuation in Ken's crest...no one wanted to think about what could be happening to him. Takeru looked down at the map once more, frowning in concentration.  
  
"Wait, Daisuke. Where did you say the signal came from?" he asked. Daisuke pointed to his D-3 screen once more, making Takeru's eyes widen in fear and realization.  
  
"There. Why?"  
  
* * *  
  
It wasn't happening. I begged for someone, anyone, to tell me it wasn't happening, to wake me up and explain that it had all been a horrible dream. My only hope, the last thing that could save me, and it was being crushed under my enemy's foot. It was my protection, my defense against the shadows, the consuming darkness.  
  
"No...it...you..." Unconnected words came from my mouth. I didn't even know what I was saying anymore. It didn't matter. Another turn of Arkenimon's heel, crunching the small rectangle further, and it felt as though my heart were in its place, being crushed instead. The sound of it pierced into my soul, cutting deeper into me. I was an easy target, open and unprotected to any attack the darkness could throw at me. Desperation, pain, sorrow. All of them magnified one hundred times as they consumed me. It was a feeling beyond them combined, more powerful than the most painful injury. It hurt so deeply...  
  
A last twist of her heel and Arkenimon stepped away from my destroyed crest.  
  
"There, there, Kaiser. You won't have to feel the pain for long. Your soul will be blackened, consumed very soon. The kindness is gone. It's time for you to come home."  
  
* * *  
  
"That's the Digital World's desert. The last time we were out there was to destroy-"  
  
"How could we have been so stupid?!" Miyako practically screamed.  
  
The five Chosen Children began running, their Digimon alongside them, trying desperately to reach their destination before it was too late.  
  
"I can't believe we didn't think to look there!"  
  
"That's because we destroyed it!"  
  
"Then they must have used the broken parts to rebuild it! And, oh Ken..."  
  
'Ken...hold on, please. We're coming to save you,' Daisuke thought, frantically hoping his friend could hear his reassurances.  
  
'Ken-chan!' Wormmon ran as fast as his legs could carry him, praying they would make it in time.  
  
They had been to the desert before. The very place they were running to happened to be the exact location where, not too long ago, the Kaiser's base had fallen.  
  
* * *  
  
My body began convulsing with shivers as the cell was plunged into ice-coldness. It was so cold. I was alone in the frozen air, the shadows in the cell growing larger and larger. No one was there to hear my frightened cries, my nonsensical murmurings of terror. Everything around me pulsated with dark energy, waiting for the precise moment to consume me. The darkness was getting bigger, swelling to unimaginable quantities. The pain in my body burned as though my flesh had caught fire, the invisible flames tearing across my skin.  
  
It was getting darker. The blackness was getting deeper; I could no longer see. I could hear the voices, calling to me, beckoning for me to rest, to give in and allow the horrid darkness to consume me. They surrounded me, hissing in my ears as I tried in vain to ignore them. It was so cold. It felt as though I were lying on a slab of ice, letting it slowly freeze my body. Cold...so cold...dark...I couldn't do it; The darkness was going to win...  
  
* * *  
  
After running for what seemed like ages to the Chosen Children, their fear and worry peaking, they came upon the Digital World's desert. The barren plain stood out before them, the sand, caught up by high winds, burned their eyes, scratched their skin, but still they continued onward, evolving their Digimon so they could reach their friend faster. Only one thought was passing through each child's mind. They had to save Ken. They had waited too long, and there was something drastically wrong with their friend. Never had a crest emitted a burst of energy and vanished before. And if Ken really was being kept prisoner in his old base...  
  
"That's it!" At last, they had come across the base, immobile, but rebuilt almost exactly as if it had just crashed. It was horrifying to see again, all of the memories of the Kaiser's reign came flooding back as the Chosen Children stared at the recreated base. Those who could jogress did, and the five children, Wormmon, XV-mon, Shakkoumon, and Silphymon ran inside.  
  
* * *  
  
"They're here."  
  
"What?!"  
  
"They found the base. I don't know how, but they found it."  
  
"Well, they're too late. Ken is moments away from being consumed."  
  
"Shall we attack?"  
  
"Of course. Let's go kill those whelps once and for all."  
  
* * *  
  
It began creeping up; I could feel it pulling on my feet at first. The darkness had turned into a liquid, and was slowly beginning to fill my black prison. It was lapping at my feet, painful, sharp, cutting. It sliced into my bare ankles, trickles of blood running over my skin. It began to crawl farther up my legs; the darkness was rising.  
  
* * *  
  
"Ken!"  
  
"Ken-chan!"  
  
"Ken, where are you?" The children and Digimon called out as they ran through the weaving tunnels of stone and metal in the base. It was a maze, a virtual labyrinth of hallways and rooms, each one feeling cold, dark. It was a horrible place to be in, even for a moment. Daisuke shuddered to think of how Ken felt, being trapped there for days.  
  
They continued to run, fear spurring them onward, desperate to find their friend, rounding a corner-  
  
"End of the line, brats."  
  
* * *  
  
Darkness swirled and coiled throughout the cell, threads of midnight whipping about in the black expanse, the creeping wave of ebony dragging itself over my body. I was helpless to beat back the freezing shadows; my arms were pinioned to my sides, my legs restrained by the binding darkness. Blood ran slick over my skin, the black ropes lacerating my flesh as they covered more of my body. My only thoughts were of horror; I could feel naught but pain. As a last desperate, frightened attempt to fight back, I screamed, only to have my voice ripped away as I was covered in darkness. 


	12. Unveiling

Covered In Darkness  
  
By QG  
  
This chapter is dedicated to Ann007 and her father.  
  
Chapter Twelve: Unveiling  
  
Arkenimon and Mummymon barricaded the way down the hallway for the Chosen Children. Both changed immediately to their Digimon forms, their humanoid bodies twisting and mal-forming to create fearsome shapes, darkly colored, with razor-like fangs and weapons poised, ready to kill if the need arose. Mummymon's body was wrapped in soiled and torn bandages, a deep purple turban askew on his head and worn leather bullet holsters crossed on his chest. The only section of his body not covered in the bandages was a part of his face, gray and mummified, with one glowing yellow eye gazing piercingly at the children before him. His mouth was curved upwards in a malicious smile, his jagged teeth fully visible. His hands were clenched around his black machine gun, the dark metal weapon pointed at the Chosen's Digimon. Arkenimon body resembled a giant arachnid, with vibrant stripes of purple and red coloring her spherical abdomen. White crisscrossed her legs, her pale hands drawing to claws. The blood red gems on her hands gleamed in the dim light as she assumed a battle stance, claws held up by her face. Her face, it was pointed, with two red and gold horns protruding from the sides of her head. A wild mane of white-gray grew from her head, furthering her frightening appearance. Her eyes, small chips of ebony, were fixated upon the children confronting her. Her lips were curled back in a confident smirk, revealing pointed fangs, as she gazed down at the Chosen.  
  
"So, you decided to come after all. I have to admit, I'm surprised you kept your faith in the little brat for this long. I underestimated the amount of stupidity humans can have when they are connected by the bonds of love and friendship," Arkenimon spat the words with disgust.  
  
"Shut up!" Daisuke yelled, fiery anger burning in his eyes. He was about to order XV-mon to attack, when she held out a large clawed hand, silencing him.  
  
"I wasn't finished yet, you obnoxious child. I've noticed how a lack of respect runs in your kind. I had to beat it out of Ken, and you'll get your turn once I strip you of your Digimon."  
  
"What did you say?!" Wormmon shouted, fury in his voice as he fired an attack. The force of it, fueled by the sheer anger the small Digimon harbored towards the spider-woman, was enough to draw blood when it hit. Arkenimon wiped her mouth of blood before snarling, lashing out at the caterpillar with a bloodied leather whip, flinging him into the stone wall. He cried out as he hit, sliding to the ground limply. Hikari bent down quickly to help him, and Arkenimon began to laugh fiercely.  
  
"It's ironic that both partners can be subdued with the same weapon." She traced her gaze along the red-stained whip for a moment before addressing the horrified Chosen Children. "You're too weak to ever defeat us. And even if you were to overpower Mummymon and myself, what makes you think you can beat the power that's taking over Ken? You're too weak to face either force keeping you from your friend. Your foolish little rescue attempt ends here," she spoke haughtily.  
  
"Get out of our way." Daisuke lowered his voice, but the rage in it was unmasked, and made it quiver. Arkenimon gave a short bark of a laugh.  
  
"Or what? You'll attack? Go ahead; it's too late anyway. The manifestation is taking place as we speak."  
  
"What?!"  
  
"What are you talking about?!" Takeru demanded, fear creeping into his voice.   
  
Arkenimon's smirk widened into a full toothy grin.  
  
"The darkness. Did you honestly think Ken had banished it from inside of him? You were stupid to trust him so much. He had it locked away after his insect died. Of course, his emotionally wrecked self had taken over his body, but the darkness of the Kaiser still lurked inside of his heart. All we had to do was tap it. Beating his body to make him physically weak, lying to him to destroy his emotional and mental stability, all of it was to prepare him for this moment. He has nothing left for him to escape the pull of darkness. He's being consumed by it at this very moment, while you stand here, helpless to stop it. In another hour or so, we'll have our puppet back to aid us in our conquest of the Digital World. In another hour, the Ken you know will be dead."   
  
The Chosen Children gasped in horrified shock.  
  
"How could you?!" Hikari and Miyako screamed in unison. A brilliant pink flash of light came from each of the girls' D-3s, melding into Silphymon. Pink markings appeared on the Digimon's body as the energy glowed around it. The power came from the girls' tumultuous emotions, feeding an energy that was as of yet not seen in the Digital World into their Digimon. Silphymon rushed forward and began to grapple with Mummymon, locking fists that crackled with power as the two fought.  
  
"A person's life is not something you play around with!" Takeru yelled, tears of grief and anger filling his eyes.  
  
"You would destroy our friend for a goal this selfish?!" Iori cried. Both he and Takeru's yellow-green energy surrounding Shakkoumon, new symbols appearing on its stone body. It began to fire on Arkenimon, the attack shimmering with power.  
  
"I won't let you get away with this!" Daisuke shouted, flames springing up around XV-mon's body. The fiery red markings remained on the Digimon's skin as he rushed forward to attack.  
  
All three Digimon fired attacks simultaneously, the combined power from each with the emotions of their partners slamming into the two wicked Digimon, crushing them into the wall of the base, stone and loose wires raining down upon them. There were several bright flashes as the electricity from the wires coursed over their bodies. Arkenimon and Mummymon's pain-filled screams echoed throughout the base, the crumbling stone crashing down on them while electric shocks shot across their twisted forms.  
  
Not even bothering to witness the fate of the two, the Chosen Children and Digimon ran on, desperate fear fueling them as they searched frantically for where Ken was being held. The horrors of Arkenimon's words still echoed in the minds of each of them, and they all prayed they could make it in time to save what they could of their friend.  
  
Suddenly, Wormmon, who was being carried by Miyako, cried out.  
  
"Ken-chan! I can feel it; he's in that cell!" The others halted immediately, looking to where the worm Digimon was pointing. It was a massive door made of some sort of dark wood. The color of the walls was a black deeper than pitch, and a cold shiver passed through the group. The moment it passed they stepped forward, their Digimon helping them to heave open the door, their imprisoned and tortured friend almost within reach.  
  
* * *  
  
Was I dead? No...not dead...but cold. It was bitterly cold. The first sensation I had was that of coldness. I could feel nothing else, knew only of the frigid numbness I was engulfed in. The iciness surrounding me pierced my skin and seeped into me until my flesh itself felt frozen. I felt as though I were encased in pure ice, doomed to be in a torpid state, held captive in a cold prison for all eternity.  
  
My survival instincts seized control over my body. Though I was ready to accept defeat, I couldn't die, not after I had endured so much. To give up would be to sacrifice all that I had worked to become, to let go of everything I had learned simply because I was too weak to stay alive. I, my arms shaking heavily, pushed myself into a sitting position, trying to ignore the ferocious pain that coursed through my body. My eyes, hazy and glazed over, forced themselves open. The swirling mass of darkness that had filled my prison had taken me to a place I knew all too well. A place of complete blackness, one that had haunted my dreams and was the subject of my nightmares, was where I had been brought. It was a world composed of darkness as far as I could see, worse, far worse, than the Dark Ocean had been. This shadow world had no landmarks, no form of life in any part of the myriad of black forms that created it. A hushed stillness hung in the frozen air, as though beings of darkness hid around me, waiting for an opportune time to rip my body apart.  
  
I shuddered violently. The only thing that inhabited the desolate hole of midnight was the prisoner, forever chained by coils of darkness until the will to resist was lost. Yes, I knew that place, knew it so well; I had been its captive once before. I could remember every moment I had spent trapped in the clutches of darkness while the Kaiser had control over my mind and body. All those years spent alone, frightened, lost, looking for some way to escape my own personnel Hell, while he caused pain and suffering in my name.  
  
If I had any fears left in my body that hadn't already come true, they were enough to fuel the terror that gripped me at my current situation. To be back in that place after so long, when I thought I had banished it from myself, back knowing what was to happen to me, that the Kaiser would take control.  
  
A small chuckle caught my attention. The sound of it, though nothing more than a tiny noise, seemed to be amplified in the darkness, surrounding me and growing until it became a deafening laughter, filling the air. It was psychotic, full of a power-hungry and insane quality, like a madman about to reach his goals. I covered my ears to block out the frightening sound, but it penetrated through the gaps in my fingers, echoing around me.  
  
The darkness before me began to swirl, the laughter seeming to come from the focal point of the churning. It turned, faster and faster, until the tendrils of darkness that made up the spiral started condensing, solidifying, taking form. Arms, legs, hands, feet, head, body, ears, mouth, eyes. All were created at such a rapid rate. Every body part joined another until the darkness had produced a humanoid life form. He stood there, a self-satisfied smirk upon his lips at my look of shock and horror. He was clothed in a deep blue and black outfit, his spiked hair a deep purple, almost black. His smirk broke into a grin as his eyes, my eyes, met with mine.  
  
"Hello, Ken."  
  
The Kaiser stood before me.  
  
* * *  
  
"Ken! Ken, speak to me, please!" Daisuke was gently shaking the frail boy who lay limp in his arms. Upon entering the prison-like room, they had discovered who they had been searching for those past few days. Ken was lying on the floor of the cell. They had all rushed to him, tentative joy ready to burst from each Chosen at the thought of reuniting with their friend. However, he had shown no signs that he was aware of their presence. His eyes, though open, were clouded over with a milky white and vacant, unseeing of anything around him. His body was limp, and his torn clothes hung loosely over bloody bandages wrapped around his gaunt, food-deprived body. For a frightening moment, they thought he was dead, and immediately checked his vitals. His pulse was faint and slow, but there, at least. His breathing was sluggish and strained. Other than the gradual movement of his chest, he was completely motionless.  
  
The Chosen were trying whatever they could think of to wake the boy, to break him out of his lifeless state. Those who were not testing a possibility for getting Ken to stir were sitting on either side of him, sick with worry. Yes, they had found their friend, but what good would it do him if he remained in a death-like condition forever?  
  
Wormmon touched a foreleg to Ken's cold hand, tears filling his eyes.  
  
"Ken-chan, please wake up..." The small Digimon was beside himself. Feelings of blame, for none but himself, were beginning to overwhelm him. He was helpless as to what he could do for his partner during this crisis. Seeing Ken lying there as though he were already dead... "Ken-chan!" Wormmon began to cry, burying his face in Ken's side.  
  
Miyako's eyes widened in alarm.  
  
"Everyone, look at Ken's face!" she cried, pointing. They all followed her finger and stared at the boy's face. On his right cheek, a thin red line had appeared and traced across his skin. Blood began to trickle from the line- the cut -and down his face.  
  
"What's going on?!" Iori wondered frantically. Takeru looked to his partner gravely.  
  
"I don't know, but whatever it is, Ken needs us!"  
  
"We have to figure out a way to help him!"  
  
"Ken! Ken, I don't know if you can hear me, but we're coming to help you!"  
  
* * *  
  
I cried out as the knife sliced my cheek. I had no questions now about whether I was dead or not. The pain was real enough to assure me that I still lived. But- I turned to face the laughing, knife-wielding Kaiser -I didn't have much time left. Blood from my face dripped down and splashed onto the never-ending darkness, coloring it red. The Kaiser walked to me, gripping my chin in one black-gloved hand. His eyes, deep indigo orbs that matched mine, studied me, ferociously drinking in my appearance. They were pleased for the most part, in some sick way, but there was also a desperate edge to them, as though he needed something from me before he could take control of my body.  
  
I had faced this Kaiser before in my life. The first time was after my brother's death, when I had first visited the Dark Ocean. That time was when I was weak, emotionally unstable. He had promised me protection, safety, but had instead imprisoned me in the dark void I was currently being held. I had seen, felt, everything he had done as the Kaiser. I shuddered, remembering all too well what it was like being the weak, submissive one, chained and imprisoned in the blackened cage of my heart. When Wormmon died, I seized control of my body again, having built up energy as he was weakened by moments of instability. My partner's death was the last thing that provided me with enough strength to break free. He had gone too far, and I was finally strong enough to beat him back. I thought I had banished him from me forever after that day. I thought I would never have to see that prison of darkness again.  
  
"So, Ken, we meet again," his voice was my own, only colder, harsher, as he spoke the words with an immeasurable amount of loathing. I flinched as he spoke. Even in the weakened state he had been in, I was still terrified of him, of what he was capable of. And, at the moment, he was far from being weak. Even though his appearance seemed gaunt and thin, the darkness that had surrounded me for the past several days had given him strength, enough to bring me here again.  
  
"Have you come to surrender, then?" he asked, releasing my chin and stepping a pace away, his eyes still locked on my every movement. I frowned darkly. He sneered.  
  
"Then why did you come here?" he demanded. I started a bit. Why did *I* come there? What was he talking about?  
  
"What do you mean? I didn't *come* here. I was brought here." He made a noise of disgust.  
  
"You can't just be *brought* here. You of all people should know that." His voice was cold and sharp. "Even if the darkness were to get so big that you couldn't feel yourself anymore, you can't be merely *brought* here. You have to allow yourself to come here."  
  
"But I didn't-"  
  
"It doesn't matter, fool. Even if it's one tiny thought or wish, buried deep in your soul, it still counts." My head was swimming. I...I wanted this?  
  
"Of course," the Kaiser continued, "there were many factors coming into play this time." He sighed. "How I wish you were still as young and naïve as you were the first time I encountered you."  
  
"Factors?" I asked warily.  
  
"I thought those two Digimon worked quite nicely, actually. It saved me a lot of trouble. I did help them, naturally, but they did most of the work for me. Your physical weakness was important. What did they do? They beat you, of course." My back began stinging with the mention of it. The Kaiser chuckled a bit.  
  
"I will be feeling that when I wake up after defeating you, that's for sure. Let's see, what else do I need to inform the little 'genius' of? Well, there is that stroke of brilliance I came up with..." I narrowed my eyes.  
  
"What would this be?"  
  
"You know that image of your friends as they all turned on you? I created that, of course. I was getting so edgy and bored waiting for you to surrender; I had to do *something* to keep me entertained." I gasped in shock.  
  
"That was you?!"  
  
" 'Oh, Wormmon, don't leave me, please!' Yes, that was I. Terribly entertaining, if I do say so myself. You are so amusing to watch when you're suffering." The Kaiser laughed, and it was like acid pouring down on my ears. I bit back a wave of rage as I tried to get him back on track. I needed to buy some time, stall him, do anything to avoid what his final goal was for me; the bloody knife he held was enough to keep me focused.  
  
"That can't have been all you did to me. It took a lot more than that to keep me down last time," I spoke, cutting through his malicious laughter. His mouth quirked upward in a smirk.  
  
"No, I did a lot more to you this time. It's harder to wear you down than it is to keep you imprisoned. Do you remember that wonderful little nightmare you had? I'm stronger when you're unconscious, which explains the state your body is in right now." I tensed. I remembered that nightmare. Wait, that would mean...!  
  
"That was you that spoke to me! The voices were..."  
  
"That's right. Those that you first heard, the black tendrils, were my servants. I had sent them to lure you in with false promises. It worked well enough before. I thought I had gotten you at that moment, but then you chose that time to start resisting. So, in order to subjugate you, I needed to attend to the matter myself. Of course, I hadn't gained the amount of strength I have now, so I wasn't able to fully imprison you, just weaken you. Fortunately for me, that spider woman figured out the connection between you and your crest."  
  
"What connection?" The Kaiser sighed, frustrated.  
  
"Do I have to explain everything to you?! You received your crest only after you banished me to this...prison. It was a symbol of your kindness," he spat the word with disgust, "and being such, protected you from me. I loved feeling your reaction to that crest getting smashed." He flashed a toothy grin at me. I felt a fresh surge of hatred for the *thing* standing before me. Biting my lip, I was able to suppress it. He had the advantage by far, and there was no way I would be able to defeat him in the state I was in. But...I was running out of distractions for him, and he was gripping the knife tighter, the hungry look flashing in his eyes...  
  
"What did you mean," I asked hurriedly, "when you spoke in my nightmare, about killing the traces of what is and replacing them with what lurks?" He smiled broadly, looking extremely proud of himself.  
  
"Ah, yes. The creative streak in me will not be kept down. I'm afraid I quite enjoy giving cryptic messages to my prey. You, Ken, have seen what happens when one of us is imprisoned in this realm." The Kaiser gestured around him at the everlasting darkness. "Eventually, enough happens to give the captive one the upper hand, and allow him the ability to take control again. I've decided to eliminate this cycle completely. And for this to happen..."  
  
The Kaiser lunged forward, grabbing me by the neck and wrenching me off the ground, holding me up as he began strangling me.  
  
"I'm going to kill you." 


	13. Pain

Covered In Darkness  
  
By QG  
  
Chapter Thirteen: Pain  
  
I choked, the gloved hand around my neck tightening, my own hands weakly reaching up to pry it off. The Kaiser's grip was like iron and it felt as though he were going to break my neck in half. A sadistic, twisted smile tugged at his lips, his eyes thirsting for blood. The hand tightened, cutting off my air completely. I couldn't breathe! Frantically flailing for some way to give my body oxygen, I kicked out, my foot impacting with his chest. He grunted, more surprised than hurt, but it was enough to make him lose his hold. I fell to my knees, coughing and gasping for air.  
  
He was too strong. I shouldn't have allowed him to grow as strong as he was, but my own thoughts and insecurities had turned against me and given him power while weakening my own. It was only a matter of time before he'd...No! I couldn't let that happen! I had to fight back against him no matter what! 'But,' I asked myself, 'how?'  
  
I should never have taken my eyes off him, I lamented, as a metal-toed boot slammed into my ribs. An audible crack resounded in the dark void, and I tried to cry out, but blood forced its way up my throat and out of my mouth. I was thrown backwards, landing on my sliced-up back with a thud. I moaned helplessly in pain; at least one, maybe two ribs were broken.  
  
"How _dare_ you defy me..." the Kaiser spoke, his voice full of loathing. "I've waited too long for this moment. I'm stronger than you by far. There's not point to your fruitless struggles. Make this easy on yourself and go quietly, or I'm going to kill you so slowly, you'll be begging for the end."  
  
I dazedly rolled over onto my stomach, pushing myself into a kneeling position, while keeping one hand over my injured ribs.  
  
"Do what you want. I swear I won't go without a fight," I spoke, the blood in my throat and mouth making my voice hoarse. I couldn't afford to fall at that point. My only hope was that he had been lying to me before I was brought to the void, that the onslaughts of horrible visions were merely ideas created by the Kaiser's whims, rather than out of the depths of my own mind. He smirked.  
  
"I know what you're thinking, Ken. I did fabricate some of those visions you had, the more intense ones, but the bare threads of everything you experienced were present and available for my use. You have all those doubts about your friends, yourself, everything. I did magnify those thoughts, of course, but the fact of the matter is you still had them. This part of you disgusts me. You're so hypocritical, saying that you've won back the kindness and the goodness of your soul! You only think you have, leaving room for doubt and insecurities. You'll never be able to be true to yourself unless you abandon all those thoughts, as I have. If you cast off insignificant human traits like love and kindness, you'll find that so much more can be accomplished. The freedom of you mind and soul can truly be attained once you have nothing tying you down. There is no limit to what one can attain. But, unfortunately for you, you'll never get to experience this freedom. You're never going to see the light again."  
  
I flinched as my broken ribs sent a shock of pain through my aching body.  
  
"Then why did you tell me all this? Why explain everything to me if you're just going to kill me right now?" I asked.  
  
"Just a whim. I like keeping my prey well informed. It makes the situation so much more interesting, wouldn't you agree? I was worried at first that you may gain strength with a couple of these revelations, but then I saw your pathetic attempts to distract my attention, as you are doing now, and deny yourself the inevitable. I figured I'd play along, since you seemed so frightened of what I was going to do to you. I do so love the feeling of raw fear in a victim. I can see it in your eyes. Every motion I make succeeds in making you even more terrified of me." The Kaiser strode swiftly over to me and held up his hand, as if motioning to strike. I flinched, preparing for the blow. He snickered.  
  
"Do you see what I mean? I can't believe I let you take control and imprison me. You're pathetic." With that, he backhanded me across the face, knocking me to the ground again. I whimpered softly. My body couldn't handle much more abuse. However, there was something I was sure of at that moment. I had, in all my time of searching blindly, finally found the smallest ray of hope in the eternal darkness. Since the Kaiser had fabricated the vision I had of the others turning against me, that meant that they might have been out there, searching for me while I was imprisoned. He could only tell me this, of course, after he had me trapped in the void. We wouldn't leave it until one of us became the victor and either imprisoned or killed the other in order to gain control over my body. The Kaiser intended to kill me instead of trapping me, for fear of another retaliation. Or rather, he wanted to kill the part of me represented by the form I was in at the moment. But which part of me was I? Was I the true Ken, or was I just another personality, like him, created out of sorrow? It made no sense whatsoever, but all I could tell from instinct alone was that the Kaiser before me was what caused the hurt, the darkness, and I would fight with every ounce of strength in me to keep him away.  
  
With only my feeble hope of my friends coming to my assistance to empower me, it wasn't nearly enough to ward off the attacks coming from the Kaiser. He lashed out with his knife, slicing any part of my body he could touch. Soon my arms, legs, face, and chest were covered in cuts, crimson blood coating my skin. My shirt and bandages were tattered, my pants riddled with slices. The Kaiser lunged, pinning me onto my back with a foot on my chest, disregarding any and all injuries he was augmenting. The knife went to my throat; I could feel the cool blade pressed to my neck, the blood coating it slowly dripping down my skin. He had a glimmer of insanity in his eyes as he leaned in close to whisper to me.  
  
"I could end it all for you now. All the pain and suffering would be gone. The only thing I have to do is slice, and it'll be over," he spoke in a hushed voice, as though he were in awe of the simplicity of the task. I didn't quite acknowledge it then, but I realized subconsciously how much humans take their own lives for granted, that they could be over in an instant. Another thought that graced my mind saddened me as I realized the connection with it and human weakness. There was a part of me that wanted him to kill me, to end it all and not have to cope with anything anymore.  
  
"Why don't you then?" I responded with poorly concealed anger. I was angry to be at his mercy, but even more so, I was angry with myself for allowing my weakness to cloud my thoughts. I didn't want to die, but there was a part of me that told me to give in.  
  
The Kaiser smiled, a devilish, mirth-less smile, then grabbed a handful of my hair. Yanking my face painfully closer to his, his smile broadened.  
  
"You haven't suffered enough," he told me simply. Taking the knife from my throat, he flipped it around and struck me with the hilt of it. I cried out, painfully taking the blow. The Kaiser then embedded the blade deeply in my arm, a feral look coming over his features as I reacted to the ferocious pain. It seemed like an almost animal desire for him to see me bleed, to hear my cries of pain. Pulling back sharply, he yanked the knife from my arm, leaving a bleeding wound in it. My hand immediately flew to cover it and keep too much blood from seeping out. He stood, his foot leaving my chest, and licked the dark blood from the blade of his knife.  
  
"You're...insane..." I croaked out, my voice cut by the blood in my throat and my own gasps of pain. He smirked.  
  
"And you're dead."  
  
Suddenly, the darkness oozed up, long tendrils of black matter, much like those from my nightmare, surrounding my body. They wrapped hand-like appendages around me, taking hold of each of my arms and legs, around my stomach and neck. More still wavered about, ready to subjugate any retaliation I might have shown. Their touch was like ice on my lacerated skin, like frozen salt being rubbed viciously into each wound. Each clawed hand of darkness squeezed me tightly, as though they were trying to break through my body. It was so harsh, so painful, that I didn't even notice I had begun to scream. My hearing was completely drowned out; my entire being was focused on the agony I felt.  
  
The Kaiser came up to me, a gloved hand stroking my cheek as the hands stopped their attack for a moment. I opened my pain-dulled eyes, staring at him, as he spoke. His mouth moved, but I could only pick up the faintest whisper of words. He smiled, a satisfied, psychotic grin, and snapped his fingers. Instantly, black energy, like electricity, surged across my skin. The hands began to crush my body as the energy seemed to burn off my skin. I knew, as I screamed in pure anguish, that I was going to die.  
  
Moments before my bones were shattered, a remarkable thing happened. The hands were driven off by some invisible force, the electricity dying down to leave only the tiniest sparks still flickering. I fell on my back onto the black ground and lay there, staring blankly ahead, struggling to breathe. What was...I was alive? But how did...? I was filled with confusion. Then I heard a voice. Loud and clear, and so wonderfully familiar that it hurt to hear it.  
  
"Kaiser, I'm going to give you three seconds to get away from Ken."  
  
It was Daisuke. 


	14. So It Ends

Covered In Darkness  
  
By QG  
  
Chapter Fourteen: So It Ends  
  
It all felt so surreal. I had waited so long – I couldn't tell if it had been days or decades since the darkness had driven me to comply with Arkenimon and Mummymon – had felt my sanity crumble amid unending pain while desperately trying to cling to hope, that to be faced with the very people my heart depended on was in fact incredibly jarring. Throughout all the torment, my friends had become only the smallest flickering hope, so tentative at times – and yet the only thing I had left to depend on – and to have that faint hope realized so suddenly, when I had just been ready to relent to the pain – it felt almost dreamlike.  
  
I took a shuddering breath, trying my best to ignore the fierce ache in my lungs and throat, just focused on breathing. In. Out. I was alive. Breathing. My body was almost at its breaking point; the abuse it had suffered made me want to simply sleep, will the pain to disappear, cry all the hurt away. I closed my eyes and breathed, but remained conscious. It was too much. It was all too much. I simply didn't want to cope with it anymore. What could I do? I was a frail, broken child. The magnitude of my suffering began to engulf me, all that I had endured, to be faced with them. My friends. They had come.  
  
Oddly enough, I found myself drifting through half consciousness, not dreaming, not awake, but somewhere else, somewhere outside of my body. Idly I wondered if I my body had gone into shock. But I let go of those thoughts, abandoning them as memories teased my attention. Memories of my brother. But they were not sad... nothing focused on his death, his funeral, the guilt and pain that ached when I thought about him while waking. No... these memories were... pleasant. Happy. Comforting. A time full of naïveté and youthful admiration. My dearest memory was of blowing bubbles, a time for just me and my brother; I could hear his praise, feel the warm hand on my shoulder and the sliminess of the bubble solution, see his face, smiling behind large glasses. I felt no jealousy, and no subsequent guilt and self- loathing, only the young affection for my brother.  
  
And it made me wonder. Not regretfully, but curiously. What would Osamu say if he could see me? What would he do? Would he be able to understand everything that happened to me? It would have been nigh impossible trying to explain everything. The lure of darkness is not something easy to describe – nor is it something I readily wished to describe. But... still I wondered. Would he *try* to understand? I found myself answering the hypothetical questions. He would try. He would try because he loved me. They all loved me. I realized it then. They all loved me. Regardless of the doubts, the insecurities, the pain I caused them, they all loved me.  
  
I did question myself then, though. Despite the realizations I had come to, I still doubted. I doubted because I was weak, still am weak. I was weak and so close to destruction, so damaged by hurt that I *had* to doubt. I didn't deserve their love. My parents, my friends, my Digimon, my brother. I had caused them all so much grief. I was selfish, cruel, and horrible for no reason other than a vicious cry for attention. I was cold to my parents, resentful of my brother, heartless to the Digimon – most of all my own – and caused my friends to become Chosen Children. My actions were the impetus for the D-3s and the new generation of Chosen Children. All of the pain they suffered in the Digital World, then, was because of *me*. I had caused them so much suffering – I didn't deserve their friendship. I didn't deserve their love.  
  
But...  
  
Wormmon slept right next to me every night, to ward away the nightmares, he told me. Daisuke jogressed with me, and when he had seen what I held inside me, he didn't shy away. He shook my hand. Hikari understood the pain of the dark ocean. Iori trusted me when our Digimon didn't. Miyako slapped me to get me to care. Takeru accepted me with a smile. My parents told me every day how dearly they loved me – for me. For Ken.  
  
Osamu... Osamu wouldn't want me to destroy myself. He would have wanted me to be strong. He... he loved me. They all loved me. No matter how horrible I had been, they loved me. They wanted to help me, protect me, teach me how to live. Not to live a lie, not to live the pain, but to surmount it, to live as simply Ken. For them... for them I would be strong. They gave so much of themselves for me; I wanted to give back, to find the courage to face the darkness and to love my friends, my family, my Digimon as fiercely as they did me.  
  
A sharp gasp escaping my lips, my eyes flew open, and I rapidly plunged myself into consciousness. My friends hovered over me, worried, tearful, but smiling, all talking at once and laughing and crying.  
  
"Lift me up..." I croaked; it sounded as though I hadn't used my voice for weeks. They did so, still talking, carefully, though it was impossible not to jar the wounds that covered my body – I grit my teeth and bore the pain, parceling it away for when I could cope with it, focusing only on what I had to do. I caught snippets of what my friends were saying - "Our Digimon just... just got those markings when we both thought of you... it must be a new evolution" "Ken-chan... Ken-chan..." "...don't know how we ended up..." "We just had to help you" – and there was the Kaiser, restrained by the Digimon. I met his eyes – cold, steely, but so dissimilar yet exactly the match of my own – but I knew, I just knew it would be all right. My friends supported me – I couldn't stand on my own, but they held me steady – their voices elapsing into quiet as they waited for me to respond, and slowly, I did. I met each of their eyes and smiled.  
  
"I love every one of you."  
  
A flash of pink light pierced through the dark abyss, obliterating the Kaiser as he screamed in agony and solidifying into a small disk in my palm – my crest. It was over. We were bathed in light.  
  
The End 


End file.
